Deputy for youth development at the ministry, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, signed the cooperation agreement with the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams, at the embassy’s office in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Friday.
The ministry welcomed the initiative, deeming it a form of establishing good relations in the youth aspect between the two countries.
Sholeh opined that the exchange had an important role in establishing youth relations between the two countries.
“So, the renewal of the signature of this collaboration needs to be conducted as a form of commitment between the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Australian embassy to continue good relations. One of them is realized by this youth exchange," he said, according to the ministry's official site.
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The youth have an important role as agents of change for both countries, he added.
"I think why youth? Because the youth have an important role as one of the main (actors) in (promoting) change. It is in the hands of the young people that the future of this nation's change will happen," he remarked.
Ambassador Williams commended the initiative and expressed her delight saying that the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) continues to be well-established.
"I think this cooperation is important to build people-to-people relations, as a bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia," she added.
"I am very happy that this collaboration can be established again, after the last two years we knew there was a difficult problem. And in the future, I am happy that we can resume a cooperative relationship for the exchange of Indonesian-Australian youth," she said.
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Translator: Arindra Meodia, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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