REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is committed to developing human resources in the maritime sector, according to an official at the ministry.
"It has been the focus of our attention to developing human resources in the maritime sector by cooperating with experts from friendly countries," the Acting Head of the Agency for the Assessment and Policy Development (BPPK) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Salman Alfarisi, said in Yogyakarta on Friday.
Alfarisi made the statement after a discussion, entitled "Opportunities and Challenges in Indonesia Towards Maritime Countries", at the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta.
He noted that improving the quality of human resources in the maritime field is a logical consequence of the emergence of President Joko Widodo's idea to turn Indonesia into a global maritime axis.
"Since, one day, we will be able to buy more ships, we now have to prepare the human resources in the field of shipping," Alfarisi said.
To balance the needs of human resources in shipping, he said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to cooperate with Nordic countries, such as Norway and Sweden, which are well-known for their experience in the maritime field.
"Of course, we only facilitate, but more detailed implementation is in the hands of relevant ministries," noted the former ambassador of Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates.
Nikolaus Loy, an expert on International Relations at the National Development University Yogyakarta, agreed, saying that developing human resources in the maritime field should be the main focus of the current government.
"If we want to change from an agrarian to a maritime economy, then the human resources in the field of maritime have to be prepared first," Loy remarked.
But he noted that to transform Indonesia from a predominantly agrarian country to a maritime country is not easy, because cultural factors as an agrarian country have dominated society, especially among farmers.
Therefore, he reiterated, that the establishment of a focus on maritime ideas and insights should be imparted to all the people of Indonesia.
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