Mr. John Gatt- Rutter, EU Representative in the Palestinian Territories, visited An-Najah University and met with its President, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, at his office at the Old Campus where both sides discussed joint academic cooperation. Attendees to the meeting included Prof. Maher Abu Eid, Vice President for Academic Affairs, President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs, and Dr. Sam Alfoqahaa, Director of the Public Relations Department at the University.

Prof. Hamdallah welcomed Mr. Rutter and thanked him for his interest to visit An-Najah and valued the EU’s role in serving and supporting the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, he familiarized the guest with the latest achievement of An-Najah especially on the global level, and described the unique results that the University has achieved in the Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) of the European University Association which praised the quality and transparency of the academic process at An-Najah and its pioneering role in serving the local society.

Mr. Rutter thanked Prof. Hamdallah for hospitality and expressed his pleasure to visit An-Najah. He also emphasized the strong relationships between the EU and the Palestinian people and valued the University’s great efforts in service of higher education in Palestine.

During his visit to the University, Mr. Rutter inaugurated the “Land Riches” Exhibition, a project aiming at reinforcing and supporting the rural collaborative societies in Salfit and Qalqilya governorates which was organized by the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) in cooperation with An-Najah and supported by the EU.

Prior to the inauguration ceremony, a meeting was organized in which Mr. Rutter, Prof. Abu Eid, Mr. Tayseer Nasrallah, Representative of Nablus Governor, Mr. Bernard Sugir, General Director of ACTED, Awad Soi, Field Supervisor at ACTED, Mr. Akram Al-Thaher, Director of the Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine, Mr. Yousef Al-Isa, General Director of Cooperation at the Palestinian Ministry of Labour, in addition to a number of representatives of cooperative societies in Salfit and Qalqilya.

The participants spoke about the history of the cooperative movement in Palestine and pointed out the substantial efforts that the Palestinian National Authority has made to develop the cooperative societies in Palestine.

Mr. Rutter also met with a number of the University’s students participating in the “With the Youth” program which is implemented by the Sharek Youth Forum in cooperation with the EU.