Heaptalk, Jakarta — East Kalimantan Governor, Isran Noor, together with East Kutai Regent, Ardiansyah Sulaiman, have been appointed as Indonesia’s delegation to attend Climate Change Conference (COP-27) at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 6th-18th, 2022. Amidst their hectic agenda, the Governor and the Regent took time to visit East Kalimantan students studying in Egypt to support them, driving their motivation to study hard and shape a better future (11/13).
The agenda took place at River Boat Nile Cruise and was attended by 127 students from East Kalimantan, including East Kutai students studying in Kairo. East Kalimantan Governor and the region staff, as well as Sulaiman and his contingent, received a warm welcome from the students, the Indonesia-Egypt Student Council Chairman, and Indonesia’s ambassador to Egypt who was represented by the Embassy’s expert staff in culture and education, Professor Bambang Suyadi and Rahmad Amin.
Attending ‘Silaturahmi (friendly meeting) with Kalimantan Students Studying in Egypt’, Noor came with his special staff, Stefy Hakim, followed by Niel Makinunddin, Wahyu Widhi Heranata, Lenny Syafarina, and Adi Iskandar. Besides, the regional secretary, General Assistant of the province, Assistant Daily Executor for Region Development, Head of the Regional Personnel Agency (BKD), Regional Head of the Environmental Department, Regional Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Department, Head of the General Bureau of the Regional Secretary Province also joined the meeting.
Moreover, Sulaiman attended the agenda together with the Region Secretary, the Head of the National Development Agency (Bappeda) for East Kutai, the Head of the Regional Finance and Assets Management Agency (BPKAD), and the Head of Regional Department of Information and Communication. From the side of business representatives, East Kutai was represented by the General Manager of PT KPC, Wawan Setiawan, accompanied by Louise.
Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, who is represented by the executor for the social culture activities of the Egypt Embassy, welcomed the contingents and delivered his greatest appreciation for visiting the students amidst the hectic schedule.
During the meeting, Noor stated, “East Kalimantan requires excellent human capital to build the province, and one of the best candidates could be East Kalimantan students studying at Al-Azhar University.”
In his closing statement, Noor added, “I hope all East Kalimantan students studying in Egypt can deliver accurate information to the world, specifically concerning the building of New Capital’s State Palace (IKN). IKN is established in the production forest, thus this measure will not harm the environment. In contrast, we even maintain our environmental sustainability as IKN adopts a sustainable development vision.”
Moreover, Noor hopes the students can focus on their studies and utilize this opportunity to go back to their hometown and build East Kalimantan.
As additional information, about 20% to 25% of Al-Azhar foreign students, or around 12 thousand students, are Indonesian, and nine students are from East Kutai. Aside from attending the students in Egypt, East Kalimantan Government has created a scholarship program, named for Beasiswa Kaltim Tuntas (BKT) and Stimulan scholarship. Organizing this program, the local government has allocated Rp 350 billion or over USD22.5 million in 2022. The budget allocation for this program even will increase to Rp 450 billion or nearly USD29 million in 2023 (USD1 equals IDR15,548). Aligned with this program, East Kutai Government also coined a scholarship program for students studying in East Kutai or outside the area.