During a meeting with the Japanese Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Matsumoto Hotoshi and the representatives of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) office in Iraq , His Excellency, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr.  Naeem Abd Yaser Al-Aboudi reviewed enhancing cooperation and cultural and academic exchange programs between the universities of the two countries.

Dr. Al-Aboudi stressed on the importance of strengthening academic relations and providing an environment of responsible cooperation for providing scholarships and research fellowships in various fields, especially those related to energy, information technology and communication, engineering and technical fields.

His Excellency expressed the Iraqi universities’ readiness  on admitting international students as part of the "Study in Iraq" initiative and promoting academic work aspects in terms of joint scientific research, training fields, exchange of experiences and programs.

For his part, Mr. Hotoshi expressed his country's readiness on opening horizons of coordination with educational institutions in Iraq and working to strengthen bilateral relations between Iraqi universities and their Japanese counterparts, mutual visits and participation in workshops, symposiums and international conferences held in both countries and organizing forms of cooperation via memorandums of mutual understanding.

For their part, representatives of  (JICA) in Iraq expressed their readiness on expanding cooperation in technical fields and strengthening the scientific partnership environment that could contribute to the development of students' skills and abilities in the labor market and crystallize more scientific and academic cooperation and understanding.