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n a bid to increase relations between the two countries, Turkey’s government will provide full-tuition scholarships for Indonesian students who wish to study there.

“The scholarship is for any level of education, undergraduate and graduate,” Turkey’s Ambassador to Indonesia Zekeriya Ackam said on the sidelines of Turkey’s National Day reception at the Shangri La Hotel in Jakarta on Monday.

“The scholarship is open for any field of study,” he said.

For the beginning, Turkey has selected 65 students across Indonesia to be sent to Turkey. They will join a one-year program to learn Turkish before starting their studies. The language preparation is needed because most of the classes are being conducted in Turkish.

According to the ambassador, education was selected because it was believed as the foundation for other fields. “With better education, we can develop better communication,” Zekeriya said.

The ambassador also said that Indonesia and Turkey were finalizing a comprehensive education agreement for cooperation in advanced education.

“With the agreement, in the future, student exchanges at any level of education from Indonesia to Turkey and vice versa will be possible,” he said.

In his welcoming speech, the ambassador said that he really appreciated the 62 years of friendship between the two nations and expected the relationship would always be preserved.

Top Indonesian officials attended the reception, including Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh.