On 29th October 2015, Andalas University received the honour of having Prof. Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the former president of Indonesia, present as the keynote speaker in an international conference hosted by the Padang-based university. Taking place at the convention hall of its Limau Manis campus, the conference on ‘Green Development in Tropical Regions’ succeeded in attracting an audience of thousands of students. Prof. Yudhoyono’s role as one of the event’s main speakers is in keeping with his current position as the President of Assembly and Chair of Council of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
In his remarks during the presentation, Prof. Yudhoyono notably expressed his appreciation for the conference initiative which he sees as a concrete step to support academicians and activists in striving to promote green-oriented development in Indonesia. He also touched upon various opportunities as well as threats to the country’s effort to foster sustainable development. Among the factors that may influence the country’s progress in this domain, Prof. Yudhoyono pointed out to Indonesia’s population growth as potentially having a decisive impact. Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. H. Werry Darta Taifur, SE, MA as Rector of Andalas University in his opening speech mentioned that a significant amount of research from his institution’s faculty members has been utilised in the agriculture sector. He further added that the conference should serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, as well as to present the results of Andalas University’s groundbreaking research to the general public.
The international conference on ‘Green Development in Tropical Regions’ was also attended by a number of distinguished scientists from leading universities in Indonesia, such as from ITB, IPB, Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Gadjah Mada; as well as from abroad, including Prof. Ian Patrick from Australia, Prof. Jamal Othman from Malaysia, Prof. Ryohei Kada and Prof. Toru Matsumoto from Japan, and a number of other experts from the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
