G’day mate: Jokowi lauds Indonesia, Oz relations
FROM Netflix to unicorn start-ups, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has called in a speech for greater unity among Australia and Indonesia’s younger generations, especially as the latter nation looks forward to a demographic bonus.
Jokowi opened his speech with a signature Australian greeting, saying “G’day, mate” before speaking about relations between the two countries and their young people at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
“The younger generations of Indonesia and Australia have been brought up with similar values. They are brought up in a democratic society, and they’re familiar with Netflix, Instagram and Facebook while actively exchanging international perspectives,” he said.
Indonesia is currently facing a demographic bonus, where 63 million of its citizens are between the age of 16 and 30 and it is projected to become the fourth-largest economy with a gross domestic product of $10.5 trillion, Jokowi said.
“Most of [the youth] have a global outlook and are keen to innovate. Indonesia currently has a decacorn company and four unicorn start-ups that are driven by young people,” he said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the relationship between the two countries in education was strong, as thousands of Indonesian young people are studying in the country.
“Our educational connection has already run deep with 16,000 young Indonesian leaders studying in Australia every year,” he said.
Morrison also said he was delighted that Australia’s Monash University had been approved by the Indonesian government to operate in the country.
“I’m delighted that the first university in the world to establish a branch campus in Indonesia will be Australia’s Monash University. Monash Indonesia will contribute powerfully to Indonesia’s economic, social and technological development,” the prime minister said.
Jokowi proposed a youth programme dubbed “Ausindo Wave” that is focused on encouraging closer ties between Indonesia and Australia’s youth.
“The anchor of our relationship three decades from now is the youth. We already have great assets, where 160,000 Australian students are learning Bahasa Indonesia and 21,000 Indonesians are currently studying in Australia,” he said.