RI, IRAN UNIVERSITIES SIGN MOU TO COOPERATE

Jakarta, March 9 (ANTARA) - The Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University in Jakarta and Iran's Sooreh University have agreed to cooperate in the academic field.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the cooperation which was signed by representatives of the two universities here Tuesday covers echanges of lecturers and students and a plan to conduct international workshops.

"I have learned that Indonesia has great potentials in such sectors as technology, science and culture. I hope our cooperation in the cultural and educational sector can strengthen the relationships between our students and lecturers in the years ahead," the rector of Sooreh University, Mohammad Roshan, said here on Tuesday after the signing of the MoU.

The signing of the MoU coincided with the opening of a Cultural and Art Festival to mark the first aniiversary of an Indonesia-Iran Muslim Students' Friendship agreement.

Roshan said both Indonesia and Iran were brothers linked by Islamic culture. Therefore, he said, strengthening bilateral relations between the two sides was a must to protect each other from possible negative actions by the enemy.

On the same occasion, Syarif Hidayatullah University Rector Komaruddin Hidayat expressed his appreciation about the signing of the MoU saying that the cooperation could expand the horizons of the students and lecturers of the two countries.

"It is time for universities in Indonesia to establish closer cooperation in the cultural and art sectors with higher education institutions abroad. A college is not only a place for students to study but also a media to explore our own culture and exchanging it with others," he said.

Meanwhile, Director General for Higher Education, Fasli Djalal, said the cooperation with Iran was important since the country had a more advanced technology while still maintaining its Islamic culture.

"We expect more students and lecturers from universities and other institutions in Iran will come to Indonesia to study here and vice versa," he said.

Fasli said his office intended to assist the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta and Solo to open relations with universities in Iran.

He added the Ministry of National Education in 2010 was also considering to send several senior lecturers from Indonesia to universities in Iran to observe any potential cooperation to be conducted between their institutions and Iran's.

"The cooperation can be in the form of students and lecturers' exchanges where they can have scholarships from the ministry to study in Iran for master's or doctoral degrees," he said.