By TCN News,
Aligarh: A high-level delegation of Thailand, including the former Thai Foreign Minister and Former Secretary General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan and the Ambassador of Thailand to India, Pissan Manawapat visited Aligarh Muslim University and met the Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah.
The delegation discussed the prospects of cooperation in the field of higher education and research with the Aligarh Muslim University. Pissan Manawapat said that AMU was very popular in Thailand and held the place of ‘next stop institution’ for Thai students. He said every Muslim student in Thailand wished to get educated at the Aligarh Muslim University and several AMU Thai alumni held high positions in their country.
AMU VC with Former Thai Foreign Minister Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
Manawapat emphasized the need for creating an Endowment Fund in the University with Thailand’s financial assistance on the pattern of Islamic Development Bank for providing better academic and residential facilities to the Thai students and making special arrangement for English proficiency for them.
AMU Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Udin Shah welcomed the thought of establishing a Special Endowment Fund for Thai students and suggested that the fund could be generated through investment in herbal plant sector. He said that the University had a age old Unani education system and Thailand could get benefited through initiating in this sphere also.
The high-level Thai delegation visiting AMU
He urged Dr. Surin Pitsuwan and Manawapat to depute a highly qualified Chinese teacher for teaching the language to the University students as, he felt, the forthcoming era would see a tremendous growth in Chinese economic power.
The delegation also met the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Brigadier S. Ahmad Ali, who assured them that the residential problems of foreign students will be solved in near future on priority basis and University was committed to provide all possible facilities to the students.
Members of the delegation paid rich tributes to the founder of the University, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and visited historical buildings and places in the University campus including Maulana Azad Library. It also had an interactive meeting with the students belonging to Thailand and was impressed with the academic environs of the University. A television team accompanied the delegation to make a film, which they said, will be telecast on Yateem TV in Thailand.
AMU PRO, Dr. Rahat Abrar took the delegation through the University and briefed them about the historical development of the institution.