Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Carnegie Mellon Qatar
DOHA, QATAR– US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar to hold a public question-and-answer session with an audience of students, faculty and members of the Education City community Sunday. The ‘Townterview’ held at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, was part of Al Jazeera’s Arabic series covering issues from Washington. The interactive question-and-answer session was moderated by Mr. Abderrahim Foukara, the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera International.
“I have been following the progress of Education City from the United States, and I am delighted to be able to see with my own eyes the extraordinary commitment of the Qatar Foundation, His Highness the Emir, and of the people of Qatar to the importance of education,” said Secretary Clinton. She noted that with the majority of the population in the Middle East being under the age of 25, decisions that are made at Education City, in the United States or in town hall settings are important for the future of students today in their pursuit of opportunities for peace, prosperity and opportunity.
Clinton took questions from students and Education City guests on a variety of topics including nuclear weapons in Iran; the Israeli-Palestinian situation; and her role in the implementation of President Obama’s agenda. She talked on the importance of education and the role it plays in providing opportunities for the youth, especially women, in the region.
“Secretary Clinton understands and appreciates the mission of Education City. It’s clear her visit to Carnegie Mellon Qatar is just the beginning,” said Charles E. Thorpe, Dean, Carnegie Mellon Qatar. “President Obama has an initiative on entrepreneurship in the Arab world: Carnegie Mellon is suited to be one of those centers. He also has extensive plans for science and technology development in the Arab world: Education City is the ideal place for that. The Secretary talked of her initiative on women in parliament. Under the guidance of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, there is no place better than Education City to talk about empowering Arab and Muslim women. Carnegie Mellon and Education City both embody many of the ideals the Secretary talked about."
Clinton’s visit to Qatar is part of US efforts to boost dialogue with Muslims around the world. Secretary Clinton’s core message of international collaboration and problem solving touched upon the fundamental values of Carnegie Mellon University.
ABOUT CARNEGIE MELLON
With more than a century of academic excellence and distinguished research, Carnegie Mellon University is a leader in education with real-world applications. Consistently top ranked, the University has more than 11,000 students, 75,000 alumni and 4,000 faculty and staff globally. Core values of innovation, creativity, collaboration and problem solving provide the foundation for everything we do.
At the invitation of Qatar Foundation, Carnegie Mellon joined Education City in 2004. Here, Qatar Foundation created a unique center for scholarship and research that is the ideal complement to Carnegie Mellon’s mission and vision. Students from Qatar and 30 different countries enroll at our world-class facilities in Education City. Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in business administration, computer science and information systems. Learn more at qatar.cmu.edu.