JAKARTA: Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in higher education, research and human development, following Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan’s visit to Jakarta.  Al-Benyan was in the Indonesian capital for a short visit and left in the early hours of Thursday after a full day of meeting senior Indonesian officials, including Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti, and Vice Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Dr. Fauzan.  His trip to Indonesia was aimed at “strengthening the cooperation framework between the two countries in the fields of education, scientific research and human development,” the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta said. The visit also seeks to “align direction for human resource development and efforts in the education sector in line with the national transformation agenda,” it added, referring to both Saudi Vision 2030 and Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision.  In Al-Benyan’s meeting with Pratikno, the two ministers “agreed to strengthen concrete cooperation, such as scholarships, research and development, and the utilization of digital technology and artificial intelligence in the education sector,” Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs said. Indonesia has 95 active cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, according to its higher education ministry, covering joint research, curriculum development, exchange of lecturers and programs for visiting professors, among other areas. There are ongoing efforts to link Indonesian and Saudi universities, with a focus on joint research, including cooperation between Surabaya State University and Saudi Electronic University; Muhammadiyah University of Makassar and Al-Baha University; the Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta and King Saud University; and the Bandung Islamic University and King Abdulaziz University.  “Moving forward, we will continue to push for greater collaboration between Indonesia’s higher education institutions and stakeholders from Saudi Arabia, including in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics),” said Fauzan.  “We hope that the two countries can continue our long-standing relations and cooperation while expanding the scope of activities and areas of cooperation, all while keeping in mind the national interests of both Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.”