Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), an institution originally established at Aligarh in the United Provinces of India in 1920, became a central university by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988.

Jung signed the agreement with KSU Rector Abdullah Al-Othman in the fields of engineering, IT and nanotechnology on Tuesday, while the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University on joint research programs was signed with its rector Sulaiman Aba Al-Khail on Monday.

The visiting vice chancellor also called on the Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman and had discussions with Director General of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (DARAH) Fahad Abdullah Al-Shammari during his stay in the capital.

Zikrur Rahman, director of the India-Arab Cultural Center of JMI, and Hifzur Rahman from the Indian Embassy also took part in the discussions.

“We are happy to have signed a MOU with the KSU for higher education and research program in physics, information technology and nanotechnology,” Jung told Arab News on Wednesday. Under the agreement, he said, KSU will grant three scholarships for JMI students for master’s degrees and two more for doctorates in engineering, nanotechnology, physics, chemistry and information technology. He also said that the two parties agreed for the KSU to set up a chair for JMI on modern science and technology.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was conferred an honorary doctorate during his visit to India in 2006, while Indian Premier Manmohan Singh received a similar honor from KSU during his visit to the Kingdom in March last year.

According to an agreement, DARAH would assign the India-Arab Cultural Center (IACC) of JMI to translate important books written in Arabic on the history and culture of the Kingdom into Indian languages, mainly Urdu, Hindi, Malayalam and English. DARAH would also seek the help of the IACC in the translation of books written in different Indian languages on the Arabian Peninsula, its traditions, culture, civilization and history into Arabic.

Currently, DARAH is engaged in the preparation of a Haj encyclopedia. Jung said JMI would help DARAH in collecting rare travelogues as well as manuscripts and publications on Haj and Umrah pilgrimage available in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

In this regard it was decided that JMI would organize a two-day workshop on Haj on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2011, for which around 20 scholars from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka would be invited to present their papers.

DARAH is also considering the establishment of a research chair in the name of Prince Salman at JMI.

“It was a touching moment when Prince Salman mentioned an old saying popular among Saudis, which means, “India is yours and you would never lose anything while dealing with India,” Jung narrated about his 40-minute memorable discussion with the governor.

Prince Salman was conferred an honorary doctorate by JMI during his visit to New Delhi in April last year.