DU-Jawaharlal Nehru University MoU
Move to establish long term Indo-Bangla relations
Vice-chancellor (VC) of Jawaharlal Nehru University in India Prof Sudhir Kumar Sopory, left, and Dhaka University VC Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, right, sign a memorandum of understanding on exchange of academic gains in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Sheikh Hasina during the former's recent visit to Dhaka. Photo: Courtesy
Apart from academic gains, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Dhaka University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) during the Indian prime minister's recent visit to Dhaka aims at establishing long-term friendly bilateral relations. “Graduates of DU and JNU, as expected, serve in key positions of different sectors in their own countries. “A good personal relationship among them from early on will help them deal with different bilateral issues in the future,” said DU Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique recently. Initially the cooperation under the MoU, based on a three-year time span from the date of signing, will be focused on international relations, social sciences, language, literature and culture studies and computer sciences. The universities will have exchange programmes for faculty members and students, conduct joint research activities and exchange academic materials and other information. They will also launch special short-term academic programmes, exchange administrative managers and conduct joint cultural programmes to promote quality education. Designated liaison officers will execute the deal's clauses. The MoU may be further extended or amended with the written consent of both parties. It was also understood that all financial arrangements would be negotiated by both and would depend on the availability of funds. Prof Arefin Siddique observed that the deal's implementation would ensure close ties among students of the two universities. This, he believes, will help to further strengthen the friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India in the future. “Dhaka University, for the first time in its history, has signed such a deal with a foreign university at a summit level meeting. It reflects the sincerity of both the Bangladesh and Indian governments toward the expansion of education,” said the vice chancellor. He said the resources of both universities would be shared in as many ways as possible. “One of our targets is to reduce the geographical distance between the two universities through working closely together.” Prof Arefin Siddique sought additional funding from the government for a full implementation of the deal. The vice-chancellors of the two leading universities of Bangladesh and India, Prof Arefin Siddique of and Prof Sudhir Kumar Sopory of JNU, signed the MoU in the presence of the prime ministers of both countries in Dhaka on September 6.
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