Dutch minister to visit RI

Dutch minister to visit RI

JAKARTA: Dutch education minister Loek Hermans will visit
Indonesia next week in a bid to boost cooperation in both the
technology and education fields between the two countries.

A media statement released by the Dutch Embassy here said that
during his trip between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, Hermans will sign a
memorandum of understanding that will extend cooperation in
research to 2004, a project that will cost 25 million euros.

The research to be conducted under the program covers the
fields of biotechnology, medical knowledge and religion.

Hermans is also slated to meet President Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Minister of National Education Malik Fajar and
visit a number of universities and institutes, including
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University and the Bandung Institute
of Technology.

The Netherlands has been involved in a World Bank-coordinated
aid program for elementary schools in the country since 2000. The
bank has collected US$80 million, which is mostly used to provide
scholarships and school subsidies. -- Antara