Lebanese University to open Turkology department

By Hamza Tekin

BEIRUT (AA) – The Yunus Emre Institute and the Lebanese University on Tuesday announced that they had signed an agreement to open a "Turkology" department at the latter.

An official signing ceremony will take place in Ankara in July following the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The announcement was made Tuesday at the university’s main campus in Beirut, with the participation of Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Cagatay Erciyes, Yunus Emre Institute Director Cengiz Eroglu, and Lebanese University President Adnan al-Sayed Hussein.

Erciyes told Anadolu Agency that the formal agreement would be signed in the Turkish capital following the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The ambassador went on to praise the move, which, he said would serve to "strengthen relations and mutual cooperation between Lebanon and Turkey".

Eroglu, for his part, said the institute would provide the university with academic staff while also promoting academic research on the Ottoman and Republic eras of Turkey’s history.