Enviro News Asia, Washington, D.C. — The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Washington, D.C. received ten postgraduate students from Universitas PTIQ Jakarta on Monday, 24 November 2025. The delegation, all participants of the Istiqlal Mosque Ulama Cadre Education Program (PKUMI), visited the embassy as part of their academic trip across New York and Washington, D.C. from 22 to 25 November 2025.
The students, selected by the Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque and Minister of Religious Affairs, Prof. Dr. KH. Nasaruddin Umar, M.A., are undergoing a two-month intensive program at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (HIU) in Connecticut. They represent various regions of Indonesia, demonstrating the diversity that strengthens Indonesia’s contemporary Islamic scholarship.
Ambassador Indroyono Soesilo engaged the delegation in discussions on the importance of nurturing balanced, moderate, and contextually relevant religious understanding. The students shared insights from their coursework and explained how their U.S. visit broadened their perspectives on pluralism, public life, and the expression of Indonesia’s moderate Islamic values on the global stage.
The current group is the fourth cohort of the PKUMI short-term program, implemented under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Universitas PTIQ and HIU in September 2023. The agreement covers education, research, and academic exchange. Its most concrete implementation is PKUMI, supervised directly by Universitas PTIQ Rector Prof. Nasaruddin Umar—recipient of an honorary doctorate from HIU in 2025—and supported by the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).
Hartford International University, established in 1834, serves as a strategic partner due to its Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations and its leading postgraduate programs, including the Master of Arts in Interreligious Studies and the Master of Arts in International Peacebuilding.
The Indonesian Embassy welcomed the visit and expressed hope that the international exposure gained through the program will enrich the participants’ academic development and future service. The embassy affirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives that expand the horizons of young Indonesians and foster cross-cultural and interfaith understanding. (*)
