RIYADH: Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago has proposed a partnership between King Saud University (KSU) with Philippine universities to Dr. Badran Al-Omar, the rector of KSU.
The Filipino envoy also pushed for a student exchange program and enhance cooperation in the field of education, particularly in research and development.
Tago called on Al-Omar in his office recently at the KSU university as part of efforts to promote bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.
He also discussed with Al-Omar about KSU’s scholarship program to Filipinos in Arabic studies and that some of the graduates had been employed by the Philippine Embassy.
Al-Omar said the scholarship grant of the Saudi government under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdulaziz is a continuing program,
He also said that under the program, all “Saudi government universities allocate 5 percent of the seats available to non-Saudi students.”
Al-Omar suggested to the Filipino envoy that aside from twinning of universities and scholarship grants, Filipinos could also apply for positions as research assistants as an entry point for deeper cooperation in research. The research assistants could then apply for advanced graduate studies at KSU and open up new opportunities.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia offered 150 scholarships for graduate studies to Filipinos in all fields except medical courses. Two Filipinos availed themselves of the scholarship grants for an MBA program at the KSU.
Interested applicants may also submit their applications directly to the universities they wish to enrol in through their websites.
Al-Omar also expressed his appreciation to Tago for being the first ambassador in the Kingdom to have called on him in his office at the KSU.
Tago said that he had also met earlier with Al-Omar’s predecessor in connection with his duties and responsibilities as the Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Envoy proposes partnership of KSU with Philippine universities
