Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) received a visit from the Religious and Educational Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Indonesia, Ahmed Essa L Alhazmi and Al Brag Abdullah Almeer, to foster friendship and explore cooperation in the fields of education and religion.
This visit was directly welcomed by the Rector of UMSU, Prof. Dr. Agussani, MAP, represented by the Vice Rector III of UMSU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rudianto, M.Si., on Sunday (9/3) in the VIP Room of UMSU Campus, Jalan Muchtar Basri No.3 Medan.
A delegation from the Saudi Arabian Embassy visited various facilities and the Astronomy Observatory located at the UMSU Postgraduate Campus.
The Religious and Educational Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Indonesia, Ahmed Essa L Alhazmi, expressed his happiness at being able to visit Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra (UMSU) and discuss various potential collaborations.
“I am very happy to be able to come to UMSU and be warmly welcomed by all of you,” he said.
He said that after listening to the presentation about UMSU, he felt proud and impressed with the various programs and contributions of this campus in the fields of education and da’wah.
“We know that Muhammadiyah has a wide influence in Indonesia, and this is something extraordinary.” The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta is very happy and proud of this meeting,” said Ahmed.
He added that the Saudi Arabian Embassy is ready to assist UMSU in various aspects, especially in language development, education, and other fields that can strengthen the relationship between the two parties.
“We hope that UMSU can open an Arabic Language study program and continue to communicate with the Saudi Arabian Embassy to further strengthen cooperation.” God willing, we will follow up on this cooperation for the development of education and Islamic preaching in the future,” he added.
Previously, on this occasion, the Vice Rector III of UMSU introduced various flagship programs of UMSU, one of which is the Astronomy Observatory (OIF) that has been visited by more than 70 thousand people and serves as a crescent moon observation point every year.
“In the future, we also plan to develop OIF in Tapanuli Tengah because the weather and sky conditions there are still very supportive,” said WR III UMSU.
In addition, he also highlighted the increasing number of students in the Astronomy Study Program.
“Alhamdulillah, the students of the Astronomy Study Program are quite numerous.” We hope that cooperation with Saudi Arabia can help our alumni continue their master’s and doctoral studies there,” he added.
Dr. Rudianto stated that UMSU is also known for its active involvement in international preaching, “UMSU is also active in global preaching.” In 2024, we are sending lecturers to preach in New Zealand and Australia, as well as several Qaris to Malaysia to lead prayers during Ramadan,” he stated.
The Vice Rector III hopes that in the future, UMSU can collaborate with various universities in Saudi Arabia and develop scholarships for foreign students from various countries to study at UMSU.
“This visit is expected to be the first step towards closer cooperation between UMSU and the Saudi Arabian Embassy, particularly in the fields of education, research, as well as the development of Astronomy and Islamic preaching,” said Rudianto.
The visit concluded with the presentation of a Quran from the Saudi Arabian Embassy and a souvenir from UMSU.
Also present at this meeting were the Religious and Educational Attachés of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Indonesia, the Head of the Astronomy Observatory (OIF) at UMSU, Dr. Arwin Juli Rakhmadi Butar Butar, MA., the Deputy Dean I of the Faculty of Islamic Studies (FAI) at UMSU, Dr. Zailani, M.A., the Chairperson of OIC Rafieqah Nalar Rizky, S.Sos., M.A., and several bureau heads at UMSU.
