His Excellency the President of the State of Palestine, Mr. President Mahmoud Abbas “Abu Mazen,” received a delegation from the Arab American University, which included the founding Chairman of its Board of Directors, Dr. Yousef Asfour, and the Acting President of the University, Dr. Bara Asfour, with the presence of a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Dr. Ziad Abu Amro.
At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency welcomed his guests and congratulated Dr. Bara Asfour on assuming the position of Acting President of the Arab American University. His Excellency affirmed the provision of support and assistance to Dr. Asfour, pointing to the importance of education in the State of Palestine and his constant support for this sector.
In turn, Dr. Yousef Asfour, Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab American University, thanked His Excellency the President of the State of Palestine, Abu Mazen, for his generous directives in supporting the educational and research process of Palestinian universities. He said, “The Arab American University is proceeding based on the directives of Your Excellency and is witnessing development in the provision of medical, health, academic, research, technological and engineering services for the Palestinian people. In addition, the University has opened, under your auspices, many medical, technological and scientific faculties that meet the needs of the new era.
For his part, Dr. Bara Asfour, Acting President of the Arab American University, thanked His Excellency for the reception, noting that this visit gives us strength and determination to continue and progress, stressing that His Excellency is the patron of the academic process in Palestine and the supporter of youth.
Dr. Bara stressed that the Arab American University provides all its academic and administrative capabilities and its staff to serve the nation, its institutions, and our people in Jenin, Ramallah, and even all of Palestine. He pointed out that AAUP includes students and staff from all regions of historical Palestine, and deserves to be called the University of All Palestinians, because it brought together all the spectrum of the Palestinian people from north to south. It can be seen that students from Nazareth meeting with students from Nablus, students from Jenin studying alongside students from Sakhnin, and students from Jerusalem conduct scientific research alongside students from Haifa. We hope that we will meet the people of the Gaza Strip and they will join the Arab American University family in the near future.
Dr. Asfour also stated that the University attracts many international competencies, including lecturers and researchers, to provide qualitative education in Palestine. He stressed that the University today has reached global status, occupied an important part on the international map, and has obtained many international accreditations, and it has also received many international awards. The most recent of which was that the University magazine won the best scientific research journal at the Arab level.
At the end of the meeting, the delegation thanked His Excellency the President for receiving them, wishing him success in protecting the national project in these difficult circumstances.
