- Council of Higher Education President Erol Özvar meets with representatives of the League of Arab States:

- “Every new bridge we build in higher education is also a long-term investment in the shared future of our young people”

- “One of our fundamental goals should be to ensure that joint scientific research does not remain confined to laboratories, but translates into new technologies, production capacity, qualified employment, and social benefits”

- Türkiye-Arab Higher Education Forum to be held at least once every two years; working group comprising three representatives from each side to prepare a joint “Action Plan”

September 2, 2026 

A Higher Education Consultation Meeting was held between the Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Türkiye and the League of Arab States with the aim of launching a new and institutionalized era of cooperation in the fields of higher education, science, and research.

Speaking at the meeting, held at the InterContinental Grand Ankara Hotel and attended by representatives and ambassadors of the League of Arab States, Council of Higher Education President Erol Özvar said that relations between Türkiye and the Arab world are built on a shared history, strong cultural ties, mutual respect, and longstanding people-to-people contacts. He said the meeting was a clear expression of the two sides’ determination to transform this rich heritage into a concrete, sustainable, and results-oriented partnership in higher education.

Pointing out that universities are not merely institutions that transmit knowledge, Özvar said they are institutions that generate knowledge, train qualified human resources, strengthen the resilience of societies, and build lasting bonds of trust between countries.

“Every new bridge we build in higher education is also a long-term investment in the shared future of our young people,” Özvar said, emphasizing the importance of placing higher education cooperation between Türkiye and the Arab world within an institutional framework.

- Scope of cooperation to be expanded

Özvar said the consultation meeting would establish a comprehensive framework that would take cooperation beyond general statements of intent. He noted that the parties aim to increase student, academic, researcher, and administrative staff mobility, as well as develop joint undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.

He added that the establishment of joint research centers and scientific networks, along with the exchange of experience in quality assurance, accreditation, the recognition of diplomas, and equivalency procedures, would also constitute key elements of the cooperation.

 - Joint initiatives in strategic fields

Özvar said cooperation between Türkiye and the Arab world would prioritize areas of strategic importance for the development of the participating countries, including artificial intelligence, health sciences, engineering, renewable energy, water resources, agriculture, food security, climate change, and digital transformation.

He said these areas are not merely subjects of scientific research, but also represent a shared sphere of responsibility in terms of the welfare and economic independence of societies and their preparedness for challenges in the future.

Özvar said they also attach importance to strengthening innovation, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and university-industry partnerships, emphasizing the need for joint scientific research to produce tangible outcomes.

“One of our fundamental goals should be to ensure that joint scientific research does not remain confined to laboratories, but translates into new technologies, production capacity, qualified employment, and social benefits,” Özvar said, stressing that scientific cooperation should deliver tangible benefits to societies.

 - Türkiye-Arab Higher Education Forum to be held

Özvar said the consultation meeting would establish permanent institutional mechanisms for cooperation between Türkiye and the Arab world, noting that the Türkiye-Arab Higher Education Forum would be held at least once every two years, alternately in Türkiye and in a member state of the League of Arab States.

He said the Forum would serve as a regular platform for consultation and strategic coordination, bringing together higher education administrators, rectors, researchers, and policymakers, and would help ensure the continuity of cooperation.

 - Joint Action Plan to be prepared

Özvar said a League of Arab States-Türkiye Higher Education Working Group, comprising three representatives from each side, would be established to translate cooperation between Türkiye and the League of Arab States into concrete objectives.

He noted that the Working Group would prepare a joint Action Plan covering priority areas, proposed activities, participating institutions, potential sources of funding, and an implementation timetable. In this way, he said, the commitment expressed by the two sides would be translated into measurable targets, clearly defined responsibilities, and trackable outcomes.

Özvar said the Council of Higher Education attaches importance to establishing the Working Group in a short period of time and preparing the first Action Plan with practical, realistic, and measurable targets.

- Cooperation with League of Arab States institutions

Özvar said cooperation with specialized organizations affiliated with the League, particularly the Arab League’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, would also make an important contribution to this process. He added that developing Turkish and Arabic language programs and establishing language and cultural centers would strengthen academic ties between universities.

He said these initiatives would also contribute to mutual understanding among societies.

- Support for higher education in crisis-affected regions, particularly Palestine

Özvar said Türkiye has also expressed its commitment to supporting higher education institutions and students affected by conflicts, humanitarian crises, and natural disasters.

He emphasized that preserving the continuity of higher education in regions affected by crises, particularly Palestine, preventing the loss of academic capacity, and upholding young people’s right to education are a shared moral responsibility of the international academic community.

Özvar said that, as a strategic partner of the League of Arab States, Türkiye continues to contribute in this area through scholarship programs, inter-university cooperation, and opportunities provided to international students. He added that Türkiye aims to develop existing ties into a more balanced, reciprocal, and multilateral structure in the coming period.

Özvar also noted that the two sides aim to establish strong institutional partnerships between universities in Türkiye and leading universities in Arab countries. 

- Success of cooperation to be measured by tangible outcomes

Emphasizing that the real success of the Consultation Meeting would begin with translating its outcomes into action, Özvar said success would not be measured by the number of meetings held, but by the number of students and academics benefiting from mobility programs, joint programs implemented, research networks established, scientific outputs produced, and tangible benefits delivered to societies.

Özvar said Türkiye would continue to fulfill its responsibilities with determination in bringing the scientific capacity of its universities together with the knowledge base and dynamism of higher education institutions in the Arab world.

Expressing his hope that the Consultation Meeting would contribute to friendship, scientific cooperation, and a shared future between Türkiye and the Arab world, Özvar thanked everyone who contributed to organizing the meeting.