His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), one of 16 institutes spread around Indian cities to function as hubs for excellence and development in scientific research, engineering, and technology.

During a meeting with the institute’s director, deans, and faculty members, King Abdullah was briefed on the IIT-Delhi’s programmes in engineering, science, and technology to inspire innovation and creativity among students.

IIT-Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao highlighted potential opportunities for scientific cooperation between the institute and Jordanian universities in the future.

His Majesty affirmed the importance of bolstering cooperation and expertise exchange between Jordanian and Indian universities, calling for benefiting from India’s outstanding experience in ICT and scientific research.

The King pointed to India’s experience in cooperation among industrial sectors, the government, and educational institutions at the theoretical and practical levels, describing it as a model that Jordan can benefit from.

His Majesty said supporting and developing the ICT sector is a priority for Jordan, noting that over 23 per cent of entrepreneurs in the sector in the Middle East and North Africa are young Jordanians.

The King expressed hope for increased cooperation between the IIT and Jordanian universities in a number of fields, including IT, cybersecurity, renewable energy, and energy storage solutions.

Discussions at the meeting covered the importance of technical education in enabling young people to secure job opportunities at ICT companies or by starting their own small enterprises.

On the sidelines of the visit, Al Hussein Technical University and the IIT-Delhi signed a five-year memorandum of understanding for scientific cooperation.

The memo entails knowledge and expertise exchange among the students and faculty of the two institutions, and is aimed at bolstering cooperation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Adviser to His Majesty and Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas, Minister of ICT and Minister of Public Sector Development Majd Shweikeh, Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh, Jordan’s Ambassador to India Hassan Al Jawarneh, and India’s Ambassador to Jordan Shubhdarshini Tripathi attended the meeting.

A delegation of students from a number of Jordanian schools currently on a tour of New Delhi and Agra accompanied His Majesty on the visit.