Iran to Facilitate Academic Training for Afghan, Iraqi Students


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian president on Tuesday expressed Tehran’s positive attitude towards providing higher education for Afghan and Iraqi citizens living in Iran.

In a Tuesday session of Iran’s Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution, President Hassan Rouhani was briefed on the latest measures to facilitate academic education for the Iraqi and Afghan nationals residing in the country.

The president also asked a task force set up to oversee the issue to fully explore the ways to provide academic study and training for foreigners with a “positive attitude and outlook.”

Iran enjoys cordial academic relations with many regional and trans-regional countries, and students from different countries enroll with Iran's numerous academic institutions to receive higher education.

In August, Iran's Cultural Attaché in Tunisia Sadeq Ramezani Golafzani expressed the hope that Tehran and Tunis would expand cultural cooperation through practical ways, including establishment of Persian language courses in Tunisian universities.

Commenting on Iran-Tunisia bilateral relations, the Iranian diplomat described the cultural and scientific ties between the two Muslim nations as “very good.”

He added that given the high level of academic and cultural cooperation between the two countries, universities in Tunisia can prepare the ground for establishment of scientific courses, including Persian language courses, through exchange of professors and students with Iran.

And on October 25, Director of Sa’di Foundation, a cultural organization tasked with promotion of Persian language, said Iran is ready to resume cultural relations with the US provided that it takes the decisive first step.

Speaking on the sidelines of a cultural conference at the time, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, director of Sa’di Foundation, told reporters that promotion of Persian language training courses for foreigners, including Americans, would be possible in case the other side shows willingness.

Asked about whether Tehran is prepared to resume cultural interaction with the US -- an issue raised during an Iranian delegation’s recent visit to the UN headquarters in New York -- Haddad Adel said, “If the other countries are willing, it will be possible to carry out such measures within the framework of the country’s general policies.”