“The university cited Al-Anqari's achievements as exceptional and praiseworthy,” Korean Ambassador Kim Jong-yong said on Thursday.
“Through the conferment of the doctorate degree, Korea's Kookmin University recognizes the minister’s keen support for education and research.”
He said the university is a prominent institution that has developed exclusive programs in the fields of design, automotive engineering, techno-design, law and various other academic disciplines.
Kookmin University and Riyadh-based King Saud University (KSU) recently approved a joint project to develop, design and manufacture lightweight automobiles.
This two-year project, which comes within the framework of a general cooperation agreement signed by KSU and Kookmin, was signed during a ceremony chaired by Al-Anqari, who visited Seoul earlier this week.
The joint KSU-Kookmin project will provide systematic teaching and training in all domains of automotive engineering, said Saad Alhussein, KSU's international program supervisor.
Practical applications for Saudi students will be taught, yet creativity will be “crucial for developing environment-friendly cars that satisfy high standards of quality, safety and strength.”
Referring to the honorary degree awarded to Al-Anqari, Woong Chul Pak, spokesman of the Korean Embassy, said: “Our friendship with the Kingdom is an enduring relationship and multifaceted, which is evident from strong ties in trade and investment, education and development, construction, capacity building, science and technology, cultural exchanges as well as tourism.”
Al-Anqari, who obtained a Ph.D. from Florida University in 1981, has been a member of the Saudi Cabinet since 1983.
The Kingdom and Korea have witnessed a big leap in their relations, especially in the field of education.
Since 2007, when the two governments signed an MoU on cooperation in higher education, a number of Saudi students funded by the Saudi government and many others on the King Abdullah Scholarship Program have been studying in renowned Korean universities.
Kookmin University is a prominent academic institution located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
It currently includes an academic family of 22,000 students and about 400 faculty members.
