IPB—Kasetsart University Altogether to Face European Union Market

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) and Kasetsart University (Thailand) have officially renewed their long-standing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 24^th, 2019 in IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor to specify more into education and research. There were present both Rectors of IPB—Dr. Arif Satria and Kasetsart University—Dr. Chongrak Wachrinrat, accompanied by Deans and officials from Kasetsart University and IPB. Dr. Arif Satria conveyed several points related to history of cooperative relations between two institutions, due to competencies similarity in agricultural field. MoU renewal is essential on reinforcing Indonesia–Thailand bilateral relations. Sharing alike market shares, one of the most potential demographics are in the European Union. The emerging challenges nowadays towards Southeast Asian agricultural products became the key motivation on this collaboration, aiming to utilize each other’s potentials to the best extent. Dr. Chongrak Wachrinrat also explained what Kasetsart University and IPB had done together. With its “Kitchen of the World” motto, Thailand has been extensively conducting student exchange programs. The trend of Thai youth to pursue study in non-tropical countries (Japan, Korea, Europe, U.S.A) clashed with the fact that there would be more proper to polish expertise on agricultural field in countries with the same climate as Thailand, such as Indonesia and IPB, especially, considering IPB’s standing among nation’s best institution & world’s leading (QS Top 100) agricultural university.