Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Sweden have agreed to cooperate in the fields of technology and human resource capacity building through partnerships between their universities and industrial sectors, according to representatives from the two nations.
"Sweden is the second most innovative country in the world. We hope we can direct the cooperation in the fields (of technology and human resource development)," director general for American and European affairs at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, I Gede Ngurah Swajaya, said at an online seminar on Thursday, held to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Swajaya delivered a general lecture at a discussion during the event.
He said the partnership between the two nations would also cover scholarships and internships for students.
The Indonesian government believes that technology and innovation will make jobs more effective and efficient, he noted.
"Technology also has an impact on the attainment of sustainable development goals," he added.
However, the two countries have not yet exploited many areas of cooperation, including technology. Therefore, he opined, the governments, private sectors, academics, and universities of the two countries have a great chance to establish a partnership.
Meanwhile, Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia, Marina Berg, concurred with Swajaya and said that human resource capacity building is needed to connect the industrial sectors, universities, and governments of the two countries.
Berg spoke of the triple helix concept, the model of human resource empowerment that has been much used in Sweden and the rest of the world.
"The basic idea of the concept is that a number of people from different backgrounds, with a different mindset, outlook, competence, and role can work together to find innovative and better ways to solve problems in the community,"she explained.
In line with the concept, Berg assured that the Swedish business sector will always remain open to opportunities to cooperate with fellow business agents and universities to create excellent and innovative human resources.
"We must establish cooperation between governments, private sectors, and universities. The Swedish Embassy, along with the public and private sectors in Sweden are committed to realizing the goal," she averred.
She said more than 80 Swedish companies are operating in Indonesia, with investments crossing US$20 million last year.
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