The University of Tokyo and Aramco Overseas Co. B.V. (AOC) will explore new research collaboration opportunities through a feasibility study agreement signed recently. “AOC's research and development challenging targets cannot be fulfilled without the collaboration with world-class research institutions such as University of Tokyo, and this agreement marks a major milestone in this strategic relationship,” said Ahmed N. Zahrani, AOC's chief representative for the Asia-Pacific Region. Zahrani signed the agreement on behalf of AOC. Saad S. Alkhateib, AOC Tokyo Research and Technology representative, proposed the agreement and helped with its preparation. Tokyo University's Dr. Kazuro Kageyama also signed the agreement and pledged to have the school's top researchers work on the collaboration, according to a report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site. The University of Tokyo is a leading research institution that offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, it ranks No. 1 in Asia, and third in the world in the 2009 Global universities ranking. Its alumni include 15 prime ministers of Japan and six Nobel Prize winners.
