Jakarta, MINA — Indonesia’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Nasaruddin Umar, met with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Indonesia, Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on Friday (Oct 31, 2025), to discuss opportunities for enhancing cooperation in Islamic education.
The meeting focused on potential collaboration between the two nations to develop Indonesia’s madrasah education system through ALEF Education, a UAE-based edtech company specializing in digital learning platforms Ambassador Al Dhaheri reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening educational cooperation.
“ALEF Education provides digital learning platforms for Mathematics, English, and Arabic that can be accessed both at school and at home,” the Ambassador said.
He also revealed that the UAE plans to invite the Indonesian government to sign a government-to-government (G2G) memorandum of understanding (MoU) in early December to formalize the collaboration in the education sector.
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Minister Nasaruddin welcomed the initiative, highlighting that cooperation in teacher training and educational technology aligns with Indonesia’s national agenda to modernize religious education.
“We hope to establish a teacher training partnership with the UAE so that madrasahs across Indonesia can achieve the same level of excellence as Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) Insan Cendekia in Ogan Komering Ilir and Serpong,” he said.
He further emphasized the importance of improving both the quality and safety of religious educational institutions, noting several recent incidents involving infrastructure collapses at pesantren (Islamic boarding schools).
“These incidents, which resulted in student casualties, remind us that teacher capacity building and learning modernization must go hand in hand with infrastructure and institutional improvements,” he added.
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Minister Nasaruddin described cooperation with the UAE as a strategic step toward accelerating the digital transformation of Indonesia’s madrasah education. The collaboration would include interactive learning platforms, teacher development, and the development of digital platforms accessible nationwide.
“We hope this partnership will not only benefit elite institutions but also reach smaller madrasahs in remote areas, helping achieve educational equality,” he concluded.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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