TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesians think highly of Australia as a neighboring country, according to the latest research by the Australia Indonesia Center (AIC) released on Monday, Augus 15, 2016.
As many as 87 percent of Indonesians interviewed said that they had a favorable view of Australia. Meanwhile, only 43 percent of Australians had a positive view of Indonesia.
Sydney Morning Herald on August 15, 2016 reported that in addition to managing the views and issues at a high level over the last decade, lack of understanding and knowledge about Indonesia, in addition to Bali, had been a challenge faced by Australia.
The research revealed that 39 percent of Australians said that they would like to learn more about Indonesia, and 43 percent said basic education about Indonesia should be improved in Australian schools.
Meanwhile, 57 percent of Indonesians expressed their willingness to learn more about Australia, and 59 percent agreed that basic education about Australia should be improved in Indonesian schools.
As many as 40 percent of Indonesians and 31 percent of Australians believed that education and training would have the biggest impact on the prosperity in the future.
In the trade sector, about 65 percent Indonesians said that Australia was an important partner, and 50 percent of Australians believed that growing trade was the most effective way of improving the relationship between the two countries.
The survey involved 4,000 people in Indonesia and Australia and 24 focus groups who shared their opinions related to trade, education and tourism topics.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD | YON DEMA | MARIA RITA
