Syrian university mulls cooperation

Syrian university mulls cooperation

JAKARTA (JP): The University of Damascus in Syria, is interested in cooperating with the Syarif Hidayatullah State Academy of Islamic Studies (IAIN) in Jakarta.

Rector assistant Suwito told Antara on Saturday that Bachar Jakfar from the Syrian Embassy had met him several days ago to express the university's interest in building a cooperation.

IAIN, he said, would receive books, especially those on science and Islamic studies. The assistance is quite important, especially as IAIN is in the process of becoming a state university, he said.

Suwito said the University of Damascus was still considering the cooperation, but he noted that Bachar seemed interested in IAIN's system of teaching. In addition, there are a number of Syrians who study Islam at the institute, he said.

IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah has a cooperation with a number of foreign universities, such as Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and the University of Muhammad Sa'ud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It also cooperates with 27 local universities and other various institutes.