Al-Ghazali University hosts two-day summit on academic cooperation in Muslim states

What happened

Al-Ghazali University hosted a two-day international summit on academic cooperation, according to Daily Times. The summit focused on strengthening academic cooperation, promoting research, building scholarly connections and pursuing joint initiatives in higher education among universities across the Muslim world [3].

Sindh Governor Syed Muhammad Nehal Hashmi met chancellors, vice chancellors, rectors and other international academic figures taking part at Governor House. He said expanding academic collaboration, research and scholarly ties among universities in Muslim countries was an important need of the time. He also said that sharing experiences and research could lead to significant progress in higher education [3]. Associated Press of Pakistan captions name him as Nihal Hashmi [4][5].

Mufti Abdul Rahim, Patron of Jamia Al-Rasheed and Chancellor of Al-Ghazali University, described the participation of delegations from 34 Muslim countries as an honour for Pakistan. He said the summit allowed detailed discussions on challenges facing the Islamic world and future risks. He added that committees had been formed to address several key matters, with positive outcomes expected in the near future [3].

Professor Dr Sami Al-Sharif, a former Egyptian minister and Secretary-General of the Association of Islamic Universities, called for educational cooperation and a common educational policy among Muslim countries. He also said Pakistan’s status as a nuclear power encouraged other Muslim countries. He announced that a regional office of the Association of Islamic Universities is being established at Al-Ghazali University [3].

Academic representatives attended from Egypt, Malaysia, Türkiye, Lebanon, Yemen, Brunei Darussalam, Somalia, Mauritania, Libya, Jordan and other countries. Participants included representatives of Cairo University and the International Islamic University Malaysia. Oman’s Consul General was also present; Daily Times names him Sami Al-Khanjari [3], while an Associated Press of Pakistan caption names him Sami Al-Hajari [5].

Who is affected

• Pakistani students, because the Vice Chancellor of Al-Azhar University indicated scholarships for them, which Mufti Abdul Rahim welcomed as a source of further opportunities in higher education [3].
• Universities in Pakistan and across Muslim countries, which the summit aimed to link for research and educational cooperation [3].