Beirut, 21 September 2026– The Conference of Rectors of the Middle East Region (C2R Middle East) and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in the Middle East organized, on 17 and 18 September 2026, the 3ndGeneral Conference of the C2R Middle East, hosted by Saint Joseph University of Beirut.
The meeting, under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon, Ms. Rima Karamé, brought together in Beirut and online about 40 presidents, rectors and mandated representatives of universities in Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Palestine, the Sudan and Syria.
The Rector of AUF, Prof. Slim Khalbous, spoke online to present the new AUF 2026-2029 strategy.
Opening speeches were delivered by François Boëdec s.j., outgoing President of the C2R and Rector of the Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Jean-Noël Baléo, Regional Director of the Middle East AUF, and Joseph Moukarzel o.l.m., President-elect of the Middle East C2R and Rector of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK).
In addition to the statutory agenda, the exchanges have been structured around three main themes, at the heart of the challenges facing universities and societies in the Middle East. A first panel focused on artificial intelligence, its transformations and the preparation of academic institutions. A second was devoted to the interactions between climate change, health and society, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to better understand these issues and adapt research responses. Finally, a third panel explored the role of universities in promoting peace and mediation in the Middle East, highlighting their contribution to dialogue, mutual understanding and building more peaceful societies.
This meeting allowed the leaders of the member institutions to conduct a collective reflection on the orientations and perspectives of the 4 thematic commissions of the Middle East C2R, which presented their results after 2 years of activity, and to validate, by vote, the commissions set up for 2027-2028: Research; Internationalization of institutions; Quality assurance, accreditation and mediation; Digital transformation and generative AI.
Three Vice-Presidents were appointed after consultations, for a two-year term, on a geographical basis representative of the Middle East region: Ahmed Adel Abdelhakim, President of the University of Alexandria; Moustafa Saem el Daher, President of Damascus University; and Abdulmehsen Hamad Fetais, General Legal Counsel of Qatar University, by delegation of President Omar Al Ansari.
Finally, a new member, the American University of Science and Technology – AUST (Lebanon) was admitted to the C2R.
Following the vote of the presidents, the next general conference will be held in autumn 2027 at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.
About the C2R Middle East
C2R is a regional forum with the AUF Middle East, dedicated to the reflection on strategic issues in the field of higher education, and provides a space for confrontation and dissemination of ideas and solutions. It also has an operational role, with a series of activities led by its various thematic commissions.
The C2R Middle East brings together 54 Rectors, Presidents of Universities and Directors of University Institutions in the Middle East, members of the AUF, in 13 countries in the region.
A similar conference is organised by each AUF Regional Directorate, bringing their total number to 10 conferences spread over the five continents.
