A delegation from the Department of Arabic Studies at Tbilisi State University’s Institute of Oriental Studies, led by Prof. Darejan Gardavadze, visited Cairo University. Prof. Gardavadze spoke to us about the visit herself.

“Cairo University is one of the oldest Arab universities in the Middle East. Opened in 1908, it is a traditional university with great academic influence. Its multidisciplinary educational resources and potential are widely recognized throughout the Arab world and beyond.

Cairo University is also the first Arab university to partner with Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. A memorandum of cooperation was signed shortly after the opening of the Georgian Embassy in the Arab Republic of Egypt in 1998. For over a quarter of a century, Cairo University and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University have enjoyed a fruitful partnership. The history of fruitful cooperation continues to reach new heights.

The purpose of the visit was to complete a specialized program with a grant obtained within the framework of the Georgian International Education Center's qualification enhancement program at the Arabic Language Teaching Center of Cairo University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies for Education, which trains foreign specialists to teach Arabic to non-Arabs, as well as to conduct professional expertise on Georgian university educational programs in Arabic studies with prominent specialists in the field. The visit also aimed to receive consultations, outline new cooperation opportunities with Cairo University, and familiarize ourselves with the latest cultural innovations in Cairo. Of particular note was the grand opening of the new Egyptian Museum, which exceeded expectations with its scale.”   

In addition to Darejan Gardavadze, the delegation included a young cadre involved in implementing the practical language component in the educational programs of the Department of Arabic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies, TSU Faculty of Humanities - an Arabic language teacher at the TSU Foreign Languages ​​Center, Doctor of Philology Nino Surmava; doctoral students of the department: Venera Kochlamazashvili and Nino Jikia, who were on a two-week working visit (from November 10 to November 24) to the Arabic Language Teaching Center at Cairo University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies for Education. Accompanying them were the professors who implement the Arabic Studies educational programs at Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University: Head of the Program, Associate Professor Zviad Tskhvediani, and Associate Professor Lela Avaliani.

Prof. Dr. Iman Ahmad Haridi, the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies for Education and a professor specializing in curricula and teaching methods, initiated the closing ceremony of the Georgian Arabists Program. Dr. Khalaf Abd Al-Mutti, the director of the Arabic Language Teaching Center, also participated in the ceremony, which was attended by Cairo University Vice President Mohammad Hussein Refaat Al-Sarky; Nikoloz Apkhazava, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Arab Republic of Egypt; and Mamuka Kurasbediani, the senior counselor. The meeting proved very fruitful. The Georgian and Egyptian representatives exchanged proposals for future cooperation in education and culture and outlined action plans.

In addition to Cairo, the group of Georgian Arabists visited the cities of Fayum and Alexandria.