INDONESIA through the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) received the arrival of the Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party who is also a Member of the Japanese Parliament, Motegi Toshimitsu, along with his staff.
Head of BRIN Laksana Tri Handoko said that BRIN has had very close cooperation with various parties in Japan.
In the meeting, Handoko emphasized that carbon neutrality is currently Indonesia’s focus. “Through this meeting, we want to strengthen cooperation with Japan, especially academics in Japan in the fields of science and technology, research, and innovation. Where, we focus on carbon neutrality, because this is a big job for Indonesia today,” said Handoko, in a meeting held at the BJ Habibie Building, Jakarta, Monday (29/7).
“We know that Japan has a lot of technology related to carbon neutrality. So we hope to cooperate further, especially for the elimination of steam power plants (PLTU),” he added.
Handoko said BRIN has just started working with Sumitomo Heavy Industries for the transition of PLTU engines in Indonesia. “We will replace fuel from coal to local biomass from Indonesia,” said Handoko.
The use of local biomass as a new renewable energy source, he explained, is a strategy in achieving carbon neutrality. Although, for large-scale energy sources in the future, Indonesia is considering nuclear power plants.
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“Specifically for nuclear, it is entirely our responsibility at BRIN,” he stressed.
He also explained that currently BRIN has begun collaborating with industrial partners in Japan in developing bioavtur for aircraft fuel based on local Indonesian biomass, such as coconut and other plants.
“We hope that next year production will start and it will start to be used,” he explained.
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In this meeting, Handoko conveyed the desire to strengthen cooperation with Japan for the development of superior human resources (HR) through research activities. BRIN has many schemes and programs to develop HR, especially master and PhD programs in collaboration with global partners, including Japan. However, he said, this cooperation is different from before, where Indonesia depended on funding from partners.
Currently, the cooperation is focused through funding from the Indonesian government through the Education Fund Management Institution program. In this way, the development of superior human resources is integrated with research collaboration with foreign partners.
“In the past, cooperation between Japan and Indonesia was carried out through Indonesian alumni who had studied in Japan. However, currently, the number of Indonesians who studied in Japan and continue to work as academics is decreasing,” said Handoko.
Regarding the cooperation between Japan and ASEAN, Handoko said, so far BRIN has offered Indonesia to become a hub for collaborative activities. BRIN has prepared infrastructure and supports so that research activities can be carried out in Indonesia, but involving countries in ASEAN.
“And we have started several activities, where Indonesia becomes a hub through the facilities provided by us at BRIN, to be collaborated with ASEAN countries together with Japan, including for AI, digital technology, and so on,” explained Handoko. (H-2)
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