TEHRAN – From among Islamic and neighboring countries, Iran puts the priority on increasing academic cooperation with Iraq, deputy science minister Vahid Haddadi-Asl said on Tuesday.

In a meeting with Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Naseer Abdul Mohsen Abdullah, he said Iraq has the largest number of foreign nationals studying in Iran, so removing their problems is one of the most important missions of the science ministry, IRNA reported.

Iraq has the largest number of foreign nationals studying in Iran, so 107,000 Iraqis are currently studying in Iranian universities.

Some 107,000 Iraqi nationals are currently studying in Iran, Haddadi-Asl noted.

The Iranian official suggested that forming joint scientific committees will be greatly helpful for removing issues of mutual concern such as drought as well as sand and dust storms.

Some 57,675 foreign nationals from 133 countries are studying in Iranian universities, 30,600 of whom are studying in universities affiliated with the Ministry of Science, while 25,000 others are receiving education at Azad University and about 2,000 in medical universities.

Currently, foreign nationals constitute 1.64 percent of the country’s student population, which is about 0.14 percent higher than the goal set by the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021), Mohammad Javad Salmanpour, the deputy head of the Organization for Student Affairs, said in April.

Twenty-five percent of the foreign students studying in Iranian universities are Afghan nationals, he added.

Meanwhile, some 527,000 foreign students are studying in Iranian schools, the majority are Afghans and the rest are from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq, and other countries, the deputy minister of education for international affairs and schools abroad, has said.

There are also 22 special schools for foreign nationals across the country, IRNA quoted Abolfazl Kamali as saying in May.

MG