NNA – Caretaker Minister of Education and Higher Education, Abbas al-Halabi, met on Saturday with the Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Barış Ulsoy, accompanied by the educational attaché at the embassy, Turgut Koç, in the presence of senior officials at the Education Ministry.

During the meeting, Minister al-Halabi highlighted the historical relations between Lebanon and Turkey and the memorandum of understanding at the higher education level that needs to be activated. He said: "We look forward to strengthening cooperation between our two countries, especially since Turkey is a major country in the region, enjoys a long history and hundreds of years of relations with Lebanon, and we want it to support the Lebanese education sector in these difficult circumstances."

He stressed "the importance of human capital in Lebanon, which is built by the education sector, thus giving it a fundamental advantage that must be preserved,” adding that “the education sector is suffering from accumulated crises, and we hope that through cooperation and friendly relations, it will be supported so that it remains prosperous for the benefit of Lebanese students.”

Al-Halabi continued to underline "the need for exchanging experiences at the level of students and professors in general education, vocational and technical education, higher education, and with the Lebanese University," pointing to "the presence of a number of schools that adopt the Lebanese curriculum in Turkey and the necessity of organizing this cooperation through a joint work team."

For his part, the Turkish ambassador commended today’s meeting “to enhance cooperation in the field of education,” and expressed “readiness to exert efforts with the work team at the embassy in order to raise the level of cooperation between both countries, and the desire of the Turkish side to develop these relations and exchange experiences and visits.”

He stressed that they are open to various forms of educational and university cooperation, also through the European Erasmus Plus program.

Ambassador Barış Ulsoy outlined the projects implemented by his country in Lebanon through the Turkish non-profit organization, TIKA, which included equipping public schools and providing solar energy to a number of them. He pointed out that “the presence of the educational advisor at the embassy will be a helpful factor in strengthening relations and expanding their framework.”

At the end of the meeting, a joint working group was formed between the Education Ministry and the Turkish embassy for this purpose.

===========R.Sh.