On 9 October 2017, Prince of Songkla University, led by PSU President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chusak Limsakul, conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts (Islamic Studies) to His Eminence Prof. Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam Sheikh of Al-Azhar, the Arab Republic of Egypt. The ceremony for conferment took place at the Office of Sheikh of Al-Azhar in Cairo, with His Excellency Mr. Chainarong Keratiyutwong, Ambassador of Thailand to the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the administrative teams of PSU and Al-Azhar University attending as guests of honor. After the ceremony, PSU and Al-Azhar University explored further opportunities of academic cooperation.
H.E. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayyeb is an administrator of higher education institutions and a scholar with numerous outstanding academic works. In the academic circle, His Eminence has been active with diligence and perseverance as president of Al-Azhar University from 2003 to 2010, and as a result, he has a great number of former students all over the world, including Thailand. Currently, there are approximately 3,500 Thai students studying at Al-Azhar University, and the majority of these students are from the Southern border provinces of Thailand. In 2016, Al-Azhar University generously awarded 80 scholarships to Thai students as a way of tightening the relationship between the Arab Republic of Egypt and Thailand.
H.E. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayyeb is an internationally recognized philosopher and supreme religious leader aiming at peace in the multi-cultural society of mankind beneficial to the region and the world as a whole. He has always supported Thai students studying in the Arab Republic of Egypt, as a mean of fostering the collaborative partnership between Al-Azhar University and Prince of Songkla University. This has made him an impressive supreme religious leader of the Arab Republic of Egypt for whose continued support Thai students look forward to. Thus, Prince of Songkla University Council in its meeting No. 343, the 7th meeting in 2012 on the 13th of October 2012, unanimously resolved that an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts (Islamic Studies) to be presented to H.E. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, which is truly an honor and privilege for Prince of Songkla University.
