Three top Indian universities today signed MoUs with three Belgian varsities for exchange of professors and students to expand bilateral cooperation in the field of education. President Pranab Mukherjee, in his opening remarks during talks with Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupa, said India attaches great importance to its relations with Belgium and hoped that the two countries would strengthen economic ties. The President said during the delegation-level talks that cooperation in education has to emerge as one of the important pillars of the partnership. After the talks, Vice Chancellors of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad University signed MoUs with three Belgian Universities, namely, Ghent University, University of Libre and University of Leuven for exchange of professors and students. “We should explore the possibilities of increasing academic exchanges between Belgian universities and renowned universities of India,” Mukherjee said and added that he was happy about the signing of the MoUs between Indian and Belgian universities. “We should encourage greater people-to-people contacts between our countries as it will facilitate business and cultural exchanges between our like-minded countries and deepen our relationship,” he said. UGC Chairman Ved Prakash, Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University Dinesh Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Kumar Sopory and Hyderabad University Vice-Chancellor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy are part of the President’s delegation visiting Belgium and then Turkey in the second leg of the tour. Source: Education News