"We are going to conduct more deep-sea expeditions after the conclusion of the Index Satal expedition not long ago," Fadel said in a video conference on the US - Indonesia science and technology partnership, highlighting the 2010 joint oceanic expedition in Washington DC on Friday (Jan 7).
Fadel said science was nobody`s private poverty and therefore Indonesia needed to open its doors widely for collaboration in scientific pursuits with other countries, including in oceanic research projects.
He said Indonesia-US relationships could be further cemented if three pre-conditions were fulfilled, namely governmental concern, the people`s interest and a good response from the US.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, who was also present at the conference, said the Index-Satal expedition had strengthened the Indonesia-US relationship as a number of new sea biota were found by both American and Indonesian scientists who had participated in the project.
"I hope this kind of bilateral cooperation can be continued in another oceanic expedition after Index Satal resulted in the discovery of wonderful deep-sea species," he said.
He said the joint scientific and technological research project had also benefited the US although the US owned the sophisticated Okeanos Explorer ship.
"Although we brought in sophisticated technology, we also learn new things from Indonesia, especially from the experts," the ambassador added.
The video conference in Washington DC was also attended by the chairman of Indonesia`s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPTT) Marzan Iskandar. Also present were US Special Envoy for Science Bruce Alberts, Secretary of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Jane Lubchenco and Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal.
The Index-Satal oceanic expedition took place for 30 days in 2010 and resulted in the discovery of 79 new marine biota species. It involved 32 scientists and engineers from both countries working on board the Okeanos Explorer.
(KR-FNY/F001/S026)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
