Iran, Iraq To Upgrade Co-op On Education

Tehran, June 26, IRNA – Iran and Iraq education ministries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Tuesday to exchange experience and upgrade cooperation in various educational arenas. Signed by the Iranian Education Minister Hamid Reza Haj-Babaei and the Iraqi deputy education minister, Ali Ebrahim, the agreement envisaged empowering the educational staff and upgrade cooperation in the fields of publishing textbooks and exchange experience. The Iraqi deputy education minister said that some 600,000 teachers are working in Iraqˈs education ministry, adding that women constitute 65 percent of the educational staff while 35 percent are men. Haj-Babaei, for his part, told the signing ceremony that the agreement will benefit both nations. Contending that Iraq is a neighboring country with common education policies with Iran, he added that educational cooperation will help the two nations come closer to each other. Referring to the agreement signed between the two countriesˈ education ministries last year, he said that based on the document, Iranian schools were established in Karbala, Najf, Kadimiya and Baghdad./end