Cameron R. Hume, the US ambassador to Indonesia, has hailed the plans as a means of empowering the Indonesian youth: “A country without a better higher-education system won’t be successful and satisfied in the 21st century… The best thing they can do to face the future is to have an informed, educated citizenry.”

Although the Indonesian government has allocated 20% of its budget to education, the majority of those funds are directed towards primary and secondary schools, leaving a lack of effective higher education for older students. The new US scheme will seek to improve standards through educational exchanges and university partnerships, with the hope that many Indonesian students – perhaps as many as double the current amount – will be able to study in the US.

A White House statement also added that the scheme will seek to improve both the capacity and quality of Indonesian higher education institutions,  as well as expand initiatives through the Community College Initiative Program, Fulbright, and access to English language courses.

The two nations have also announced plans to hold a joint higher education summit in the summer of 2011.