Turkey's University of Health Sciences (UHS) opened a branch in Sudan yesterday. Inaugurated by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at an official ceremony, Niyala Health Services Academy follows a 2017 pledge by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to open a university in Sudan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Bashir said the academy would play a critical role in meeting the health needs of the Sudanese people. He thanked President Erdoğan, the Turkish government, and the people of Turkey and Sudan for their support.

Professor Hasan Hüseyin Eker, UHS' director for the Africa Health Studies Application and Research Center, said the main objective of the school was to contribute to Sudan in terms of producing highly qualified health personnel.

Eker said service quality would further increase once the number of educated people was higher. "Our school, without pursuing any kind of self interest or looking for profit, aims to be part of the geography of love," he said.

Mesut İkiz, the director of the UHS Niyala Health Services Academy, said the school had become operational as of the 2018-2019 academic year, noting that there was a huge demand from Sudanese students.

He said the students would go through an intense educational period while learning Turkish and taking field lessons in Arabic. "They will be trained as qualified personnel in the UHS Niyala Health Services Academy, where they will find the opportunity to transform theory into practice," he added.