ABC Radio Canberra - On Foreign Soil: Indonesia

Ambassador Siswo Pramono is one of our distinguished alumni. He received his PhD from the College of Asia and the Pacific with his thesis on the international politics of genocide. Below is his interview with ABC Canberra. 

This article was originally published on ABC Canberra and presented by Kate Midena. 

When his fellow students headed to England and the USA to study abroad, Crocodile Dundee inspired a young Siswo Pramnono to travel down under to Australia.  He studied at Monash University in Melbourne and got his PhD at the ANU in Canberra.

Now His Excellency the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia, Dr Siswo Pramono, sat down with Mornings to speak about Australia’s significant role in Indonesia’s independence struggle last century, studying Canberra as a model for Indonesia’s new capital city Nusantara; Indonesia’s UNESCO-listed Geoparks which he said are important for both education and tourism; accessing the Balinese Gardens and free music lessons at the Indonesian Embassy; trade with Australia; the Australian universities now operating in Indonesia; and dreams of an Indonesian-Australian economic powerhouse.

Dr Pramnono spoke about his love of Lake Burley Griffin and gave a master class in diplomacy when asked to compare Melbourne to Canberra.

Canberra is a city of Embassies. The Mornings program’s regular segment, On Foreign Soil, is a chance for us get to know the ambassadors, high commissioners, consul-generals and the countries they’re here to represent.