2008 Press Releases
U.S. and Iraqi Officials Renew Linkages in Education
October 21, 2008
On October 20, senior officials of the Government of Iraq met with Goli Ameri, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in Baghdad. The discussions focused on forging new and enduring ties between U.S. and Iraqi students, scholars and universities.
The Government of Iraq team was led by Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Barham Salih and included Dr. Abdul Dhiab Ojaili, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; Dr. Musa Al-Musawi, President of Baghdad University; Dr. Taqi Al-Musawi, President of Mustansiriyah University; Dr. Adnan Al-Janabi, President of Nahrain University; Dr. Qahtan Al-Khazraji, President of University of Technology, and Dr. Mahmoud Shakir, Head of the Technical Education Commission.
The discussions between the U.S. and Iraqi officials were wide-ranging, candid and productive.
Both sides affirmed the importance of higher education to national development and to strong bilateral relations between the United States and Iraq. The officials agreed to discuss establishing a mechanism to include U.S. and Iraqi governmental institutions to facilitate the rapid expansion of Iraqi student and scholar higher education exchanges for this purpose.
They also agreed to initiate a dialogue with the leadership of American higher education associations to discuss Iraqi higher education priorities and to promote stronger ties between U.S. and Iraqi higher education institutions.
The dialogue will explore how to engage university leaders in both countries in partnering to advance higher education development, including promoting peer to peer discussion and creating opportunities for greater collaboration and partnership between American and Iraqi institutions of higher learning.
The U.S. Department of State will also convene leading American non-governmental exchange organizations to discuss ways that these organizations, working with U.S. higher education institutions, can increase the number of Iraq students studying in the U.S.