RI, KOREA BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH COOPERATION TOO SHORT: RESEARCHER

Jakarta, March 10 (ANTARA) - A two-year biotechnology research cooperation on seaweed between Indonesia and South Korea is too short for a project to produce optimal bio-energy, a spokesman said.
"If the period of the cooperation covers 2 years only, I think it is not enough for such research to achieve optimal result in producing energy from seaweed," Marwoto, director of the Korea-Indonesia Industry and Technology Cooperation Center (KITC) said here on Tuesday.
He said that the cooperation which was still in the research stage would need longer time than three years as contained in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
The MoU was signed during an Indonesia-Korea Chief Executive Officer Business Dialogue held in Indonesia recently.
Marwoto said that the seaweed research would be started in Lombok.
In the meantime, President of the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) Kyoung Hoan Na said that his country had been developing bio-energy from seaweed.
"Korea has the technology while Indonesia has the resources. Therefore, we are establishing a cooperation," he said.
The pilot project for the seaweed renewable energy industry is carried out in Indonesia and expected to provide more job opportunities.