The Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah, Drs. Mohamad Hery Saripudin, MA, accompanied by the Acting Head of the Social, Cultural, and Education Section II at the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah, Umar Badarsyah; the Rector of the University of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Ir. Muhammad Anis, M.Met., accompanied by the Dean of FMIPA UI, Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering UI, Prof. Dr. Ir. Dedi Priadi, DEA, and the Director of Research and Community Service UI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah; along with the Chair of PPMI Jeddah, Herika Muhammad Taki, met with the Rector of KAU, Prof. Abdulrahman Obaid al-Youbi.
The Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah introduced the delegation and opened the discussion, expressing gratitude to KAU for providing study opportunities to several Indonesian students. He also congratulated KAU on being named the Best University in the Middle East by Times Higher Education in 2017 and requested an increase in the number of Indonesian students beyond the current LPDP scholarship pathway. Additionally, the Consul General expressed interest in establishing collaboration in Indonesian language courses, given the high interest among Saudi society to learn Indonesian, as Indonesia has the largest number of Umrah pilgrims and contributes significantly to the profits of Saudi travel agencies.
The Rector of the University of Indonesia proposed collaboration in research across engineering, science, and medicine. Prof. Al-Youbi expressed his pleasure at the visit of the Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah and the delegation, and immediately suggested drafting a written agreement, requesting the Vice Rector for Research to coordinate further. The meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes and concluded with the exchange of souvenirs and a photo session. Herika, Chair of PPMI Jeddah, also supported educational cooperation between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
“We are very pleased and fully support collaboration in the field of education, especially in improving the quality and quantity of Indonesian students in Saudi Arabia,” said Herika, who is currently completing her PhD in Urban Planning at King Abdulaziz University. (Red, imam / Ed, pw).
