Meeting between the Ambassador of Egypt and the University of Sarajevo Rector

Academic communities need to be the main driving force of progress in their countries

H.E. Hala El Bishlawy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in BiH, visited the University of Sarajevo on Tuesday, 4 September 2018 where she was received by the Rector, Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Nikolić and the Faculty of Islamic Sciences Dean, Prof. Dr. Zuhdija Hasanović.

With expressed strong commitment to continue successful cooperation between the University of Sarajevo and the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in BiH, at the meeting, different models of academic and cultural cooperation between the University of Sarajevo and the Egyptian Embassy were discussed.

During the first official visit to the University in Sarajevo, H.E. Ambassador El Bishlawy, UNSA Rector, Prof. Škrijelj, expressed his gratitude for the visit and support both for the Faculty of Islamic Sciences and the University of Sarajevo. In presenting the University’s international co-operation activities, Rector Škrijelj stated that the University of Sarajevo has Agreements on academic cooperation signed with two universities in Egypt: the Ain Shams University and the University of Cairo.

Ambassador El Bishlawy stressed the importance of joint work in the fields of culture, education and technology, and stressing that the University of Sarajevo is one of the higher education institutions in the region, H.E. expressed hope for more intensive future cooperation.

During the course of the meeting, H.E. Ambassador El Bishlawy handed over a gift sent by the Great Mufti of Egypt, E. Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, to the UNSA Faculty of Islamic Studies’s library, with a strong hope that this valuable collection of Al-Fatwa books will serve their purpose of understanding Islam and increasing the knowledge and wisdom of students and the academic community.

Dean Hasanović expressed gratitude and pointed out the importance of previous cooperation, and emphasized that thanks to the Embassy of Egypt, the Faculty of Islamic Sciences has Arabic language lecturers, which is very useful both for students and for the professors of this faculty.

Also during the meeting, ideas on possible areas of cooperation in the near future were exchanged such as the Embassy’s participation at the UNSA Scholarships Fair in October this year, the establishment of cooperation between the University of Sarajevo with universities in Egypt, organization of joint study programs in English, summer schools and workshop, as well as exchange of students and teachers.

It was stressed that academic communities should be the main driving force of progress in their countries.