President Prof. Rami Hamdallah attended on Thursday evening the celebration of the French Consulate General to mark the first anniversary of the Rafic Network of French-speaking in the Palestinian Territories. The event took place at the French Cultural Center in Nablus.  The event was also was attended Mr. Allen Remy, French Consul General In Jerusalem, Mr. John Paul Ghneim, Cultural Adviser at the French Consulate, Mr. Sebastian Fagart, Responsible for University Cooperation at the French Consulate, and Director of the French Cultural Center in Nablus.

The celebration was also attended by Dr. Maher Natsheh, Vice University’s President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Hannoun, Vice University’s President for Community Affairs, in addition to a number of deans of colleges at the University and faculty members of the French Language Department.
In his speech, Mr. Remy thanked President Hamdallah for his efforts in the development of the French language in the north of Palestine.  He stressed the importance of cooperation between the French Consulate and the University which has the largest number of French-speaking in the country.

Mr. Remy also highlighted the importance of joint programs of cooperation between the French universities and An-Najah National University.

Following that, President Prof. Hamdallah thanked Mr. Remy for his support to the education sector in Palestine.  He emphasized the importance of establishing the Rafic Network to build bridges of cooperation and understanding between Palestine and France.

President Prof. Hamdallah also thanked the French Consulate in Jerusalem, the French government and Presidents of French universities. He noted that An-Najah has established agreements of cooperation with several French universities.  He added that An-Najah is keen to develop these relations of academic cooperation.

The celebration of the French Consulate General in Jerusalem kicked off in Nablus because the University is the largest Palestinian university in terms of French speaking graduates, including four deans, an assistant for University President and a number of faculty members who graduated from French universities.