Kuwaiti ambassador, Japan''s university agree to more ties

Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi and head of Waseda University, one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan, shared the view Wednesday on the need to promote educational and scientific cooperation between Kuwaiti universities and Waseda.
Al-Otaibi and Professor Katsuhiko Shirai, the President of Waseda University, also expressed hope that Kuwaiti universities and Waseda will seal agreements on stepping up such relations in the near future, which helps further promote ties between Japan and Kuwait, both as governments and people.
The ambassador paid an official visit to Waseda University in Tokyo in the framework of a program the Kuwait embassy is promoting academic relations between Kuwaiti and Japanese universities.
During his meeting with Shirai, the ambassador emphasized that, since its modernization and reconstruction process following Liberation in 1991, Kuwait has always capitalized on education and science promotion, especially through cooperation with countries globally accredited in these vital fields.
He also stressed the importance of promoting educational and scientific cooperation with the Japanese side, saying, "The Kuwaiti leadership is willing to benefit from the Japanese scientific experience through well-planned programs." While praising Al-Otaibi for his initiative, Shirai stressed that Waseda welcomes Kuwaiti students, researchers, professors and academicians in order to further strengthen educational and scientific relations, especially in the fields of greatest interest to both Japan and Kuwait.
Like Meiji University, which recently showed an interest in stepping up educational and scientific relations with its Kuwaiti universities, Shirai said Waseda University will also spare no effort to boost such ties with Kuwaiti universities.
"We place priority in boosting ties with the Middle East," Shirai told Al-Otaibi, adding that his university has so far established relations with such countries as sudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey.
In line with "student global mobility" policy, Waseda University has a large international cooperative network that will be extended to cover Kuwait's universities. It has established several schools, especially in fields of information technology (IT), telecommunications, engineering, where instruction and research are conducted in English, in case Japanese language may be a hurdle.
Expressing his appreciation for efforts exerted by Waseda, Al-Otaibi assured Shirai that he will address top officials in charge of high education in Kuwait to take advantage of the facilities and means provided by Waseda and the other Japanese universities in order to benefit from the Japanese scientific and educational experience.
A growing number of Japanese universities have been heading towards internationalizing their study and research efforts through cooperative networking with universities around the world.