CoHE and UAE's Ministry of Education Sign Memorandum of Understanding
CoHE President Özvar: "With this MoU, we aim to increase cooperation
between our higher education institutions in areas such as academic
staff and student exchange, and to encourage scientific research by
cooperating in important higher education fields such as
telecommunications, electrical-electronics, and artificial
intelligence."
September 1, 2023
CoHE President Erol Özvar and Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of
Education of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed the Memorandum of
Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education between the
Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates and the Council of Higher
Education of the Republic of Türkiye.
Özvar delivered a speech at the ceremony organized at the Council of Higher
Education for the signing of the MoU and stated that CoHE was very pleased
to welcome UAE's Education Minister Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi and the
accompanying delegation.
He stated that the rapid development of bilateral relations between Türkiye
and the UAE in the recent years had once again demonstrated the importance
of cooperation in every field and added: "The visit of our President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan on July 19, 2023 at the invitation of H.E. Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, has
expanded new horizons between the two countries. In line with the vision
set by the heads of both states, we have decided to take concrete steps to
strengthen our cooperation in the field of higher education."
He noted that the MoU was a symbol of the commitment to further the
relations between the two countries, and added: "With this MoU, we aim to
increase cooperation in areas such as academic staff and student exchange
between our higher education institutions, and to encourage scientific
research by cooperating in important higher education fields such as
telecommunications, electrical-electronics, and artificial intelligence."
He said that CoHE had taken a series of actions to increase the quality of
higher education through pioneering and innovative steps and to maintain
its effectiveness in the international arena, and emphasized that important
steps were taken especially in internationalization.
"We attach great importance to cultural and academic cooperation"
"As in the cooperation agreement we signed with the United Arab Emirates
today, we attach great importance to cultural and academic cooperation that
support Türkiye's diplomatic activities. We aim to increase global
interaction in higher education with the recent agreements and
international cooperation protocols signed with countries such as
Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Algeria, he said.
In addition, Özvar said that they had recently signed a cooperation
protocol with SESRIC, one of the most important institutions of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation, allowing students from member
countries of the Organization to study and cooperate at Turkish
universities and added, "In this way, we will continue to advance our
country's development efforts in the international arena in an even more
effective and efficient manner."
He also mentioned the projects initiated to encourage international
researchers in Türkiye and said that they attached great importance to
taking steps to meet the needs by closely following the requirements of the
era. He stated that they were in close cooperation with strategic
institutions and organizations, and that support was also provided to the
students, who chose the fields of petroleum, natural gas, offshore
services, geomatics engineering, mining, textile and leather engineering.
CoHE President Özvar said: "Our actions in the field of
internationalization and technology show how dynamic and determined steps
Türkiye has taken in the field of higher education. The Memorandum of
Understanding we signed today represents an important initiative in line
with these goals."
In his speech, UAE's Education Minister Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi stated that
the two countries had strong cultural and economic ties, and that the MoU
would play an important role in strengthening the higher education systems
and increasing the experience of the two countries. Al Falasi said that he
was intrigued by the success of the Türkiye Scholarships, which is
considered as the most comprehensive scholarship program in the world, and
added: "I look forward to working together, learning from each other and
exploring new opportunities for cooperation as we shape the strong and
innovative education systems of tomorrow. Let us build on our joint
strengths to reach new heights in educational excellence."
After the speeches, Özvar and Al Falasi signed the MoU.