The George Washington University last week signed an agreement with the government of Kuwait that will help facilitate annual programs and events at GW that examine Kuwait and the Gulf region.
The agreement is in effect through the 2016-17 academic year with an option to be extended, said Donna Scarboro, associate provost for international programs. It aims to strengthen GW’s recruiting efforts in Kuwait and provide administrative support for enrolled Kuwaiti students through GW’s Office of International Programs.
“The U.S.-Kuwaiti relationship is strong and lasting and goes far beyond security and military cooperation to include education, a field very important to both our countries,” said Ambassador Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm Jr., B.A. ’66, M.A. ’68, the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs and director of GW’s Middle East Policy Forum.
“We are pleased to deepen our academic partnerships with Kuwait,” he said.
GW has a strong relationship with the government of Kuwait. Mr. Gnehm served as U.S. ambassador to the country from 1991-94. In April 2013, the Kuwait government made a $4 million gift to the university in support of the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES) and Gelman Library’s Middle East and North Africa Research Center.
“The goal [of the agreement] is to enhance knowledge and understanding of the issues associated with Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region and provide expert views on relations between Kuwait and the United States and other countries,” Dr. Scarboro said.
Areas of future collaboration, she added, could include graduate fellowships for Kuwaiti students at GW, the university hosting visiting Kuwaiti scholars, GW faculty visits to Kuwait and the opportunity for GW students to pursue graduate study in the country.