Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry is exploring cooperation in the development of biotechnology and biosciences through collaboration with the Japanese scholarship foundation, Takeda Science Foundation.

"I was very enthusiastic when I found out that the Takeda Science Foundation has provided scholarship support for doctoral programs and scientists in the field of biotechnology and biosciences in Indonesia for 40 years. This is extraordinary," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin noted in a press statement received here, Monday.

Sadikin affirmed that the cooperation aligned with the government's efforts to transform health human resources in Indonesia.

Support from the Takeda Science Foundation for the development of biotechnology and biosciences in Indonesia has been ongoing for four decades, with support to 173 doctors and scientists from Indonesia to study in Japan.

The foundation provided scholarships from Japan for foreign scientists and medical personnel, he stated.

The minister also sees the potential for extraordinary cooperation to support the development of biotechnology and biosciences in Indonesia.

"If we can follow up and expand the cooperation between Indonesia and the Takeda Science Foundation, especially in the fields of biotechnology and biosciences, then this will be beneficial for us," he remarked.

In the near future, the minister is keen to explore deeper cooperation through approaches, such as bringing Indonesian doctors and scientists to the best universities and leading professors in Japan to gain knowledge and experience.

“I want to know the best universities in Japan and how their professors conduct research in biotechnology and biosciences. I then want to connect Indonesian doctors and scientists with the best professors and universities in Japan, so they can learn from the best," Sadikin remarked.

He thanked and lauded Takeda Foundation for providing Fomepizole assistance when Indonesia was reeling from a health crisis due to Acute Kidney Failure (GGAPA) in children some time ago.

Deputy Health Minister Professor Dante Saksono Harbuwono earlier said he was one of the beneficiaries of the Takeda Science Foundation scholarship while pursuing his doctoral education at Yamanashi University, Japan.

“In 2005, I was given the opportunity to pursue a doctorate at Yamanashi University, Japan. As a recipient of a Takeda Science Foundation scholarship, I am very grateful to the foundation for supporting my last two years of doctoral studies," he noted at the Takeda Science Foundation's 10th Anniversary celebration in Jakarta, Sunday, February 19.

Related news: Health transformation prevents people from falling ill: Minister
Related news: Genome sequencing to change future of healthcare industry: minister

Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2023