Teaching Indians, Indonesians Bahasa & Bhasha

New Delhi, Oct 18 (UNI) Teaching of Bahasa in India and Indian languages in Indonesia was suggested when Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh met his Indonesian counterpart at a United Nations conference in France yesterday, it was officially stated today.

Singh, who is attending the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's 34th General Conference in Paris, held bilateral meetings with Education Ministers from Indonesia and South Africa.

Indonesian Minister Bambang Soedibyo showed ''considerable'' interest in India's advances in higher education and sought to strengthen links between universities in the two countries, an official statement in New Delhi said.

Prof Soedibyo voiced hope that the two countries would be able to encourage teaching each other's language in their respective institutions.

The two Ministers also discussed possible cooperation in training English language teachers, the statement said.

It said South African Minister Naledi Pandor spoke warmly of the ties between India and her country ,including an Educational Exchange Programme signed in October 2006.

The two countries plan to collaborate in teachers' training, curriculum development, university level exchanges and use of information technology in education.

Singh has invited Prof Soedibyo and Ms Pandor to visit India, it said.

UNI