Pact to woo students from OIC
27 January 2004

Released by: Meredith Griffiths, The Star

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (The Star) - Malaysian colleges and vocational schools will see an increase in students from Africa and West Asia at the end of the year following an agreement to promote the country's educational and training facilities among Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations.

Signed: Syed Hamid (centre) looking at the agreement held by Mimos chairman Datuk Ariff Araff. Third from the left is the CEO of OICN Dr Ishkandar Bahrain. - Bernama

OIC Networks Sdn Bhd (OICN), a joint venture between MIMOS Bhd and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to carry out the OIC Centre of Intellectual Opportunity Programme (OIC-CIO) with 10 institutions here yesterday.

OICN signed the agreement with TimeCom Holding Sdn Bhd, SIRIM Bhd, Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM), MIGHT Meteor Advance Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, BostonWeb Academy, Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT), Global Institute of Studies, KLC Centre for Higher Studies, Al Amoudi Middle East Alliance Sdn Bhd and Kries Education Consortium.

The signing ceremony at the Nikko Hotel here was witnessed by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who said skills development and the capacity to develop education were important factors in the economic development process.