ACC Secretary-General Participated in the Sending-off Ceremony of Indonesian Scholarship Students to China

On 25 August 2015, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) Secretary-General H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping participated in the Sending-off Ceremony of Indonesian Scholarship Awardees by the Government of China, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Primary & Secondary Education of Indonesia as well as the SEAMEO-SEMOLEC. The Ceremony was attributed to the 68 Indonesian students who were awarded the scholarship programs by the Government of China to take part in the vocational education and training at the Nanjing Polytechnic Institute.

Secretary-General Yang delivered a speech at the Ceremony, stating that China and ASEAN were good friends, good neighbors as well as good partners. ASEAN-China education cooperation has been developing in a rapid and in-depth manner. Last year, the number of student exchange between ASEAN and China exceeded 180,000, noting that 13,000 of those students were from Indonesia. Secretary-General Yang added that ACC was glad to see that another batch of 68 excellent students would join the team of Indonesian overseas students in China. She hoped the students would cherish the opportunity of studying in China, work hard and contribute to their own country and the region. The Chinese government proposed next year to be the China-ASEAN Education Exchange Year; hence, ACC would seize this opportunity to further promote the education cooperation between ASEAN and China and develop talented human resources for the region.

The Director-General of Basic Education and Primary Education of the Ministry of Culture of Indonesia, Mr. Hamid Muhammad, praised the Chinese government for providing the opportunities for Indonesian students to study in China. He emphasized ACC’s active and indispensable role in promoting the education cooperation between ASEAN and China, as well as Indonesia and China. He also encouraged the Indonesian students to take advantage of this opportunity to also learn more about the Chinese culture, behave as good envoys of friendship for educational exchange between China and Indonesia, and contribute to China-Indonesia relationship.

The Sending-off Ceremony was attended by officials from the Indonesian Ministries of Education and Culture, ACC officials, representatives of the SEAMEO-SEAMOLEC, education officers from the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia’s education attaché in Beijing,and 68 Indonesian students and their respective parents.