A memorandum of understanding signing ceremony was held between Taiwan and Indonesian universities April 17 in Taipei City, highlighting rapidly expanding academic exchanges between the two sides, according to the Ministry of Education.
 
Accords were inked by 40 local universities and 25 tertiary institutions in Nahdlatul Ulama, the Southeast Asian nation’s largest Islamic organization. Under the agreements, the universities will work to establish platforms for collaboration in talent cultivation.
 
Business and medical cooperation pacts were also sealed the same day between Taipei-based Taiwan-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council, Asia University Hospital and Taichung Veterans General Hospital in central Taiwan’s Taichung City with Nahdlatul Ulama.
 
The accords were announced during the April 12-18 visit to Taiwan by a 30-strong Nahdlatul Ulama delegation. Comprising presidents of member universities and other higher education officials, the group toured several local tertiary institutions including Asia University and Tunghai University in Taichung as well as I-Shou University in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City.
 
According to the MOE, the pacts will cultivate people-to-people exchanges and strengthen the education sectors of both countries. They also illustrate the government’s commitment to boosting ties and talent cultivation across the region in line with the New Southbound Policy, the ministry said.
 
A key plank in the government’s national development strategy, the initiative seeks to deepen agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 ASEAN member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Related initiatives under the policy include fostering a friendly environment for Muslim students through such measures as setting up prayer rooms and promoting halal certification at restaurants, the MOE said. These efforts have gained international recognition, with Taiwan ranked the seventh most Muslim-friendly destination among non-Muslim countries in the 2016 Global Muslim Travel Index published by MasterCard-CrescentRating, the ministry added.
 
MOE statistics revealed that 38,000 students from NSP target countries were enrolled at local universities in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 5,681. Indonesian nationals totaled 6,453, up from 5,154 in 2016. (KWS-E)
 
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