On 3 November 2017, the Education and Culture Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Bangkok Prof. Mustari Mustafa paid a courtesy visit to Mae Fah Luang University to discuss academic cooperation and asked the university to host for two international conferences.
Prof. Mustari Mustafa stated that the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Bangkok intended to support the academic cooperation between Thai and Indonesian universities. The cooperation would cover staff and student exchanges, joint research, training and conferences in order to encourage joint research and exchange knowledge between the two countries. In addition, Prof. Mustari Mustafa invited MFU professors to visit Indonesia and give lectures about Thai language and culture to Indonesian students and lecturers. Furthermore, he also asked MFU to offer short courses on Thai language and culture for students and academic staff from Indonesian universities.
In exchange, visiting professors from Indonesia would give lectures about Bahasa Indonesia to MFU students under the Bahasa Indonesia Bagi Penutur Asing (BIPA) project supported by the government of Indonesia.
Apart from the academic cooperation, the Indonesia Embassy in Bangkok in collaboration with the Indonesian Students Association in Thailand asked MFU to host for the 6th Asian Academic Society International Conference (AASIC 2018) and the International Symposium of Overseas Indonesian Students' Association Alliance (IS-OISAA) Asia Oceania 2018.
All in all, this discussion paved the way for future fruitful cooperation in terms of student and lecturer exchanges, short courses on the two languages, and international conferences, all of which would indeed benefit the education system and fortify the bilateral diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Thailand.
