He said Indonesia pursues various opportunities for cooperation to encourage more students from both countries to pursue higher education at universities in Indonesia.
"To attract more students from PNG, we are inviting universities from Indonesia to participate in the Indonesia Education Exhibition in Port Moresby, which will be held in late September 2026," Kusdwiadnanto said when contacted from Jayapura, Papua, on Friday.
He said the exhibition would bring together Indonesian universities with secondary school students, universities, government agencies, and potential partners in PNG.
The event provides the education institutions with an opportunity to introduce study programs, international student admission pathways, scholarship opportunities, exchange programs, short courses, as well as opportunities for joint research and innovation.
The meeting will also discuss access to education through various Indonesian Government scholarship programs, including the Indonesian AID Scholarship (TIAS) and the Kemitraan Negara Berkembang (KNB) Scholarship.
The event provides opportunities to pursue undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees.
According to the Attaché, around 100 students from PNG are studying at various universities in Indonesia through different scholarship schemes.
"Some of them study at Institut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Padjadjaran, and Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember," Arief said.
During their scholarship period, he said, PNG students receive tuition assistance, a living allowance, accommodation support, a settlement allowance, and Indonesian language instruction through the Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speakers program before beginning their main academic programs.
"We hope that, through educational cooperation, we can further strengthen relations between Indonesia and the countries of the Pacific," he said.
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Translator: Bayu Prasetyo
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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