Jordan- Expo showcases Indonesian industry, education and culture 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The Indonesian Days expo in Amman opened to the public and businessmen on Sunday, featuring four events.

The four-day expo includes an industry and agriculture fair that seeks to introduce Indonesian products to Jordanian businessmen; a higher education fair to acquaint Jordanian students with Indonesian universities; a cultural exhibition; and a film festival, according to Indonesian Ambassador in Amman Zainulbahar Noor.

"Jordan is located in a very unique position, and we are thinking of having Amman as a hub for Indonesia to export its products to other countries of the region including Iraq, Libya, Lebanon and Syria," the envoy said at the opening of the expo.

He told The Jordan Times that trade volume between the two countries witnessed a drop in the past few years, and that the expo is aimed at boosting economic relations and reviving trade.

The trade volume dropped from 550 million in 2008 to 420 million last year, in favour of Jordan, according to figures he presented.

Major Indonesian imports from Jordan include phosphates and fertilisers.

The higher education fair will take place on Monday and Tuesday from 8:00pm to 10:00pm at Al Hussein Youth City's Ya Hala Hall and will showcase the top Indonesian universities to prospective Jordanian students.

"We would like to invite Jordanian youths to study in Indonesia," the envoy said, noting that there are more than 100 universities in his country, of which 10 of the largest are represented in the fair.

D.A. Suriamiharja, vice rector for academic affairs at Hasanuddin University, which is taking part in the exhibition, said that unfortunately, most Jordanians do not know about institutions of higher education in his country.

"We want more Jordanians to come, as the quality of education is high and the tuition is affordable," Suriamiharja told The Jordan Times.

He added that his university teaches subjects that are not available in other countries, such as biomedicine, regional planning and marine science.

The total tuition for a semester in a master's degree programme does not exceed 750 (JD531), he said.

Currently, around 100 Jordanian students study in Indonesia, according to Noor.

The ambassador also announced that the embassy has signed an agreement with Yarmouk University and will also sign agreements with other Jordanian universities to offer Indonesian language courses.

The cultural exhibition, he added, includes Indonesian dancers and an ensemble of students from Mabarrat Um Al Hussein, a home for orphaned and underprivileged boys established by the late Queen Zein Al Sharaf in 1951, whom the embassy had trained to play an Indonesian instrument called the angklung.

The musical instruments will also be given to five Jordanian universities and the embassy will organise a competition among students who learn to play the instrument by the end of this year.

The cultural exhibition had its first show on Sunday evening at Taj Mall and will hold a second at the Zaha Cultural Centre on Monday at 8:00pm.

The Indonesian film festival will open on Wednesday at the Rainbow Theatre in Jabal Amman and will screen five films.