“Georgia sees a great potential for cooperation with Qatar in the fields of science and education”, said Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, H E Dr. Nunu Mitskevich. 

In an exclusive interview with The Peninsula on Thursday, Mitskevich who was on an official visit to Doha, said that meetings held with Qatar’s Ministers and officials are productive and both countries look forward to collaborate in the field of knowledge and resources in education and science. 

She said that this comes as a result of an agreement for cooperation signed in education, higher education and scientific research between Georgia and Qatar and her country looks forward more collaboration at institutional and university levels. 

“In line with an agreement signed between Georgia and Qatar, we are planning to promote and implement our activities and make a larger partnership in the field of education and science at state level,” Mitskevich said. 

The agreement envisages the experience sharing and development of cooperation in the fields of general and higher education, scientific research and technology between the two countries. 

“We think that education and research can communicate better, because science is a field which can be a common platform for people from different nationalities. We hope that the collaboration with Qatar will help us prioritise our interests in higher education and science,” Mitskevich said. 

During her visit Mitskevich participated in the WISE 2021 Global Summit, met with Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi and several other officials. 

“WISE was a great platform for discussion at an international level and Georgia took part at Ministerial level discussions as well. The meeting with Minister of Education and Higher Education was very effective and she promised to promote and work together in fields research and higher education,” said Mitskevich.   

Mitskevich also met with Qatar University President, Dr. Hassan Rashid Al Derham, and visited the Qatar Foundation to learn about the facilities and educational programs offered to students.

“During the meeting with the Qatar University President, we discussed about the possibilities of working together for joint degrees, student and academic staff exchange programs. We are also planning visits from and to Georgian University representatives to look into implementation of exchange programs,” she said. 

Mitskevich empahsised that Georgian Universities will primarily work with Qatari institutions on possibilities of offering joint Master’s, Ph.D degree programs and research initiatives. “We will work on common priority areas in research, Master’s and Ph.D degrees,” she said. “We have interest in promoting the degree study program in Gulf Studies and Arabic language for non-native speakers,” she added.

According to Mitskevich, there are several Georgian students studying at Qatar Foundation’s partner universities and plans are underway to promote it further. 

“At the moment we are planning to support our students go abroad and study on scholarship. We are looking in to possibilities with entering into agreements with universities in Qatar through the international studies centre of Georgia and offer scholarships for Georgian students to study at Qatar Foundation,” said Mitskevich.

She also said that Georgia is working with different bodies to get international accreditation for university study programs. Further commenting on ties between Qatar and Georgia, Mitskevich said the two countries maintain very positive dynamics of bilateral relations in political, economic and ties in areas of culture, education tourism will help to improve people to people connections. During her visit to Doha, Mitskevich inaugurated the artistic corner of Georgia at the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara. It is a tree-shaped statue symbolising life and immortality, includes 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet, and is made by well-known Georgian artist Rizo Khasia.

“We hope it will write new pages about the partnership and friendship between Qatar and Georgia,” said Mitskevich. According to Mitskevich, direct flights between Doha and Batumi - the second largest city of Georgia, will start soon and that will further boost the tourism sector. 

“We are seeking into ways to promote tourism. Georgia is geographically between Europe and Asia... it is on the way of Silk Road. At present we have daily direct flights to Tbilisi and plans are underway to start direct flights plans to Batumi, it will help to attract more tourists from Qatar to Georgia,” she said.

Source link: https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/12/12/2021/georgia-keen-on-collaboration-with-qatar-in-education-and-science-deputy-minister