MANILA — The government of Qatar is “ready” to help put up another Philippine school in Qatar to address the educational needs of Filipino children in the middle eastern country, the DFA Office of Public Diplomacy disclosed to media over the weekend.
The DFA quoted Dr. Mohammed Bin Abdul Wahed Al-Hammadi, Qatar’s Minister of Education and Higher Education, as saying the Qatar government is ready to donate a parcel of land for a new Philippine school in Qatar, as long as a private business partner is willing to invest in the school.
The agency added the Qatari official had also welcomed the interest of the University of the Philippines to open a satellite campus in the Gulf state, as this would encourage Filipino students to stay in Qatar to complete their studies.
In a media statement, the DFA said the Qatar government had expressed interest to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on education with the Philippines, on top of expanding the two states’ cooperation on the transport sector.
Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan Timbayan met with Al-Hammadi on April 3 to discuss matters related to education cooperation.
During the meeting, the DFA said, Al-Hammadi had reaffirmed Qatar’s interest in signing the “MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Education”.
The interest for the new aspect of partnership signals further strengthening of bilateral ties between the two states.
Earlier, Timbayan had secured Qatar capital Doha’s nod in further stretching its involvement in the transport sector. That was when the DFA official met with Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transportation and Communication of the State of Qatar, on April 2. (PNA)
