Dr. Yusuf Goran, the KRG Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research,said “As the KRG Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, we give a special priority to Archeology, side by side with other aspects, because in the past, enemies of our nation did their efforts to erase and destroy the history, traditions and culture of our nation and country”.
This statement by Dr. Yusuf Goran came during a meeting with a delegation from Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, which is founded in 1635, and it is the largest university in Hungary.
The meeting held on Wednesday, October 10th 2015, at the Ministry’s Building in Erbil.
At the beginning of the meeting, the guest delegation has disclosed the purpose of their visit and stated: “We have a rich experience in term of Archeology; we have projects and wish to execute them in Kurdistan”.
After welcoming the visiting delegation, Yusuf Goran briefed the guests about the devastation on all aspects of life, including Archeology, by enemies of our nation in the past, saying “We have many Archeological areas in Kurdistan, but so far a comprehensive survey has not been conducted, scientifically. We wish to have a vast survey to our Archeological areas, because there are many Archeological areas in Kurdistan not searched and inspected yet, including some areas in the Kurdistani areas outside the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government”.
“The importance of setting a detailed map of Archeological area in Kurdistan is that we can search and inspect the archeological areas, in a scientific method by Archeologists from Kurdistan Region Universities, in order to introduce them to the world and to show the world what a shiny history do we have”, Dr. Yusuf Goran clarified.
He considered this duty as a historical, national and humanitarian duty; meanwhile he asked the delegation to give assistant to Archeological Departments at Suleimanyah and Salahaddin Universities especially in terms of training and providing scholarships. He also expressed the readiness of his ministry to all kind of cooperation and coordination for the success of this mission.
At end of his speech, and after appreciating their efforts, he asked the guest delegation to prepare a proposal to determine the location of (Kokamila) battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darwish III at Kurdistan, and he added “determining this location has its importance for Kurdish nation”.
On the other hand, guest delegation expressed their pleasure that Kurdistan Region has witnessed scientific development, and they valued the role of Dr. Yusuf Goran and his special priority to Archeology. They explained that they have continuous relations with Archeological Department at Suleimanyah and Salhaddin Universities and with both Museums of Suleimani and Erbil as well. They also declared that they will do their best to protect Archeological areas of Kurdistan and to propose vital projects. Meanwhile they expressed their readiness to train the Archeologists, and to prepare a proposal to explore and determine the location of Kokamila battle between Alexander the Great and Darwish III.