inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology is encouraging enhanced collaboration between Indonesia and Serbia in higher education and research.

"We appreciate the Serbian government's efforts, which have provided scholarships for Indonesian students to study in Serbia for more than 10 years, and we are opening opportunities for Indonesian students who wish to enter universities in Serbia," said Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto on Monday (7/21/2025).

Minister Brian is offering a collaborative research scheme, such as joint funding research, that could begin with 20 professors from each country. It is hoped that this will be the first step in a larger program.

"Indonesia and Serbia can begin the process of updating the cooperation agreement so that collaboration in research and higher education can be further enhanced," explained Brian.

He emphasized that his office will coordinate with the team from the Serbian Embassy in Indonesia to plan the continuation of bilateral cooperation through a cooperation agreement.

Responding to this, the Serbian Ambassador to Indonesia, Ivana Golubović-Duboka, stated that she agreed that there was momentum to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Serbia.

Serbia, she explained, fully supports the renewal of the cooperation agreement and collaboration in research and higher education, as well as increasing the number of Indonesian students in Serbia and vice versa.

"Last year marked 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Serbia. We are eager to foster international collaboration. Given the vast geographical distance, this kind of connectivity is crucial," said Ivana.

Ambassador Ivana also expressed openness to negotiating changes and improvements to the cooperation agreement in the future.

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