23 February 1994 Iranian Interest in Canterbury Wool Expertise

Canterbury's reputation as a centre of wool research and textile expertise has drawn a six- member Iranian delegation to Christchurch for talks at the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand and the Wool Science Department at Lincoln University.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Dr Majid Safar-Johari of Amirkabir University, Tehran, said New Zealand was well known for its agricultural and animal husbandry expertise and there was a lot of interest in Iran in the educational opportunities available in these areas at New Zealand universities such as Lincoln.

"There are 8000 students at my university, dealing mainly in technical subjects and there could be scope for some co-operation with universities like Lincoln, especially in the wool and textile areas," said Dr Safar-Johari, who heads Amirkabir's Textile Faculty.

Mr Hamid Alizadeh, Trade Development Manager for the NZ Trade Development Board in Tehran, said that in the current period 21 top Iranian students had qualified for postgraduate placement in overseas universities. Eleven had opted for New Zealand and this indicated the relevance and reputation of university courses here.

Like Dr Safar-Johari, he too hoped for a growing level of co-operation between the two countries in the wool and textile areas.

The delegation is hosted on its New Zealand visit by the NZ Wool Board.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.