Ambassador urges Saudi students to study in Ireland

Feb 23rd 2015

Tony Cotter, Irish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has urged Saudi students to enroll in Irish universities because of their ‘excellent’ reputation. 

The Ambassador has also invited Saudi Education Minister, Azzam bin Mohammad Al-Dakheel, to visit Ireland and see how Saudis students here are progressing.

‘We have excellent universities. Ireland’s higher education system is in the top 20 worldwide,’ said the Irish Ambassador in an interview on Thursday. 
He said the number of Saudi students at various Irish colleges and universities has grown to some 3,000 over the past six years.

The plan is to ensure that more students from the Kingdom can take advantage of the country’s ‘top-quality education’.
Ireland wants to ensure that there is a specific office available to support Saudi students and deal with their queries. The presence of Saudis in Ireland is helping to strengthen bilateral relations, he said.

‘All our higher education institutions have a designated staff member to whom Saudi and other foreign students can turn to for assistance. Simply put, we’re a friendly, welcoming bunch of people, and that’s why international students get so much out of the Irish experience.’

Cotter said Ireland’s reputation for high quality education is built on a foundation of commitment and excellence.

‘Today, we have one of the best education systems in the world and an internationally renowned reputation for academic quality,’ the Irish envoy said.

Cotter, who has previously been posted to Zambia, said that Ireland’s higher education institutions have over 5,000 courses on offer across the spectrum of medicine, science, technology, engineering, business, law, languages, literature, history, philosophy and sociology.

This includes creative, visual and performing arts.