On April 19 2021, Hiroshima University (HU) signed an agreement for educational cooperation with Galala University, Egypt. Back in April of 2019, HU signed a Letter of Intent with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt on cooperation with Galala University, which was scheduled to open at that time. Furthermore, President Mitsuo Ochi met with Egyptian President H. E. Mr. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, H.E. Dr. Khaled Atef Abdel Ghaffar at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in August 2019. During the meeting, HU reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with Galala University for its launch. With this agreement, HU has been able to consolidate the specific details on cooperation with Galala University.

The signing ceremony was held online at HU’s Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, the Egyptian Embassy in Japan and the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The ceremony was attended by HU’s President Mitsuo Ochi, Executive Vice President Shinji Kaneko and Executive Vice President Toshiyuki Sato. From Galala University, President Ashraf Haider Ghaleb and Vice President Mohamed El-Shinawi were in attendance. The agreement was signed by President Ochi and President Ghaleb. Also present were H.E. Dr. Khaled Atef Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, H.E. Mr. Ayman Aly Kamel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Egyptian Embassy in Japan, and H.E. Mr. Masaki Noke, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Japanese Embassy in Egypt.

President Ochi expressed his hopes for the future, saying “I hope that this agreement will further strengthen the ties between Egypt and Japan, two countries which share a desire for peace, while also allowing us to work together to develop human resources who can actively contribute across the world.”

President Ghaleb also expressed his aspirations, “I hope we will further accelerate academic exchange, not only between Galala University and HU, but also between Egypt and Japan.”

Going forward, HU will cooperate with Galala University in the fields of engineering, dentistry and Japanese language education, including in the creation of curriculum and offering classes both online and locally.