Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, said the relationship between Australian and Indonesian governments would increase in the future.
"We believe in the increase of relationships after the election of new president Joko Widodo. We view that the democracy process in Indonesia has been great," he said at UGM Senate Hall on Friday (17/8) during the launching of New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholarships.
Ambassador Moriarty said Australia needs to immerse in the region. He believes that getting there and meeting people directly are fundamental to building cooperations.
"The New Colombo Plan allows significant change in the thinking of Australians and they can learn from Indonesia and the reverse. Around 500 Australian students will come to Indonesia to learn and hundreds of them will come to Yogyakarta," he said.
For Indonesia, UGM has been selected as the place for the launching of the NCP.
Rector of UGM, Prof. Dr. Pratikno, M.Soc.Sc, welcomes the arrival of more students from Australia to Indonesia, hoping for sustainable collaborations.
"I believe that people-to-people diplomacy will benefit both sides,” he said.
The launching is a collaboration between Universitas Gadjah Mada, The Australian Consortium of 'In-Country' Indonesiaan Studies (ACICIS), and Australian Embassy Jakarta. NCP aims at increasing the knowledge of Australian young generation about Asia-Pacific region by providing 100 millions Australian dollars in scholarships for five years in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and Hongkong for semester programs, short course, internship and mentorship. Three scholarship recipients, Emma Roberts from Australian National University (ANU), Kara Menzies from La Trobe University, and Tess Harwood from the University of Sunshine Coast, also attended the event.