Ester Hakaala Indonesia and Namibia are strengthening bilateral cooperation in education, human-resource development, agriculture, food security and trade. Indonesia is encouraging its businesses to use Namibia as a gateway into the wider SADC market. Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia Mirza Nurhidayat said the two countries have already established several partnerships between universities and training institutions, aimed... The post Namibia is Indonesia’s SADC gateway appeared first on New Era .
Ester Hakaala
Indonesia and Namibia are strengthening bilateral cooperation in education, human-resource development, agriculture, food security and trade.
Indonesia is encouraging its businesses to use Namibia as a gateway into the wider SADC market.
Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia Mirza Nurhidayat said the two countries have already established several partnerships between universities and training institutions, aimed at strengthening academic exchange, research, skills development and human-resource capacity.
The cooperation includes partnerships between the University of Namibia (Unam) and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), as well as IPB University, while the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) has partnerships with Universitas Padjadjaran and Telkom University.
“Indonesia and Namibia have established several concrete cooperation initiatives in the fields of education, training, and human-resource development,” said Nurhidayat.
He said the partnership between Nust and Telkom University focuses on digital technology development, ICT training and joint academic activities, while cooperation between the Nust Hotel School and the National Hotel Institute Bandung is aimed at vocational education, hospitality training and professional skills development.
The two countries are also cooperating in arts and cultural education through a partnership between the College of the Arts (Cota) and Universitas Negeri Surabaya (State University of Surabaya/UNESA).
The collaboration in arts education, cultural studies, creativeindustry development, and exchange programmes aimed at strengthening Namibia’s creative and cultural humanresource capacity.
According to Nurhidaya, Namibia and Indonesia also previously had cooperation between Nust and Politeknik Negeri Bandung (Bandung State Polytechnic/POLBAN) in vocational education and curriculum development, although the partnership now requires renewal to reflect current needs in technical training, digital skills and applied sciences.
“These collaborations demonstrate the commitment of both countries to strengthening education and human resource development, while expanding academic networks and supporting Namibia’s national development priorities,” he said.
Nurhidaya further identified agriculture and food security as another important area where Indonesia could support Namibia.
He said Indonesia’s experience in tropical farming, irrigation, seed development and dry-land agriculture could assist Namibia in increasing domestic food production and reducing its reliance on imports.
“Indonesia sees agriculture and food security as an essential area for strengthening bilateral relations with Namibia,” he said.
He said academic cooperation could play an important role in transferring knowledge and developing Namibia’s agricultural capacity.
The ambassador noted that the existing Unam-UGM cooperation could be expanded to include agricultural science, food technology and climate-resilient farming.
“Through joint research, curriculum development, and training in modern farming technologies, these university partnerships can help Namibia strengthen its long-term food-security capacity,” he said.
Beyond education and agriculture, Indonesia sees Namibia’s geographical position as an opportunity for increased trade.
“With its location, infrastructure and access to regional markets, Namibia has the potential to serve as a gateway for Indonesian businesses to the wider SADC market,” he said.
The ambassador also encouraged Namibian businesses to explore opportunities in Indonesia, which he described as a major market with a population of about 280 million people.
“There are a lot of opportunities for Indonesia and Namibia to work together,” he said, adding that Indonesia has a large market, strong manufacturing capacity and competitive products, while Namibia has significant potential and access to the Southern African market.
He said Namibian businesses should also look at opportunities to export their products to Indonesia.
“With a population of around 280 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, so there is a big opportunity for Namibian products to enter the Indonesian market as well,” Nurhidayat added.
He urged businesses in both countries to establish stronger connections, explore new opportunities and build partnerships.
For young people, he said stronger bilateral relations could create opportunities in business, education, skills development and innovation.
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