Amman- 7 December, 2015

 

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck and First Lady Ms. Daniela Schadt paid a visit to the German Jordanian University GJU and met with its President, staff and students on Monday 7th of December 2015. The Federal President was accompanied by a delegation of more than 40 high ranking politicians and academics from Germany as well as the Jordanian Minister of Higher Education and Research Prof. Labib Khadra.

GJU President Prof. Natheer Abu-Obeid warmly welcomed the Federal President and the German delegation and elaborated on the importance of building bridges between the Jordanian and German culture; he reviewed the great scale of opportunities that are offered to GJU graduates in various fields locally and globally. He described GJU as a German machine, and a true lighthouse in the entire Kingdom but also to the whole region. The more than 100 partner universities of GJU in Germany and worldwide and the many partnerships with industrial institutions are important corner stones for the success story of GJU.

For his part, Minister of Higher Education and Research in Jordan Prof. Labib Al Khadra emphasized that the two countries have  a deep historical connections since long years ago  that have been clearly manifested in the areas of academic, cultural, educational, economic, environmental and other fields of cooperation.  

Before starting a discussion with the students, Federal President Gauck expressed his pride of the German contribution to providing the Jordanian students a high level of education and training in German institutions and companies and to qualify them to be able to engage in the labor market.  He characterized Jordan by security and stability , praising its great role in receiving the Syrian refugees and providing relief services to them.

During the discussions GJU students spoke about their personal experiences in Germany and the training opportunities that were available to them, in addition to the employment opportunities that they will have after graduation in the labor market. On the other hand German exchange students reported about their stay in Jordan and at GJU, and why they think that GJU is so special to come all the way from Germany for a study semester. The Federal President left GJU to continue his visit at the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan.