The University celebrated today the official opening of a new UNIMED Regional Office at An-Najah National University.  The Office will be the first one in the Arab region and will thus be an important opportunity to strengthen UNIMED’s role in the Middle East and it will be a link to institutions and universities in the Arab Gulf countries.

The ceremony was inaugurated by Prof. Rami Hamdallah, University President, and Prof. Franco Rizzi, Secretary General of UNIMED.The ceremony was aslo attended by University's senior officials and representatives of the EU diplomatic mission in Palestine.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Hamdallah said that the opening of the UNIMED office at An-Najah signifies a poignant step in the advancement of Mediterranean relations within the educational landscape. He noted that the Office will be working on deepening and strengthening a forum for cooperation and intercultural dialogue between the diverse academic elements in the region.

Prof. Hamdallah noted that it is the vision of An Najah to continue with the holistic values already espoused by UNIMED, through encouraging diversity and interaction through the promotion of research, educational projects and ultimately constructive dialogue.  He thanked University's Assistant for International Relations and Dr. Franco Rizzi, for all their great efforts and follow-ups, hoping to achieve the good objective of the establishment of the Office of the UNMED at the University.

Prof. Rizzi said that the UNIMED was founded in October 1991, and it is a association of 84 Universities of the countries of the Mediterranean basin.  He said that it has the aim of promoting, in a multidisciplinary perspective, the inter-university research and education within the field of cultural heritage increase in value and conservation, of tourism, environment, health, economics, as well as of new technologies, thus contributing to the integration process between the two Mediterranean shores.  Prof. Rizzi put an emphasis on the support the UNIMED is giving to the Euromed partnership and to the UNIMED office and An-Najah's mission in promoting intercultural dialogue and cooperation.