College of the North Atlantic renews contract with Qatar

The College of the North Atlantic will keep its campus in Qatar for at least three more years.

CNA and the government of Qatar have signed a three-year extension to their contract, makingthe announcement at a ceremony in the Qatari Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The College of the North Atlantic opened its campus in Qatar in 2001, and employs about 600 staff and teaches 2,100 students in the middle east country.

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According to CNA, its campus is the first co-educational institution in Qatar, and was the first to develop an"English for [a] specific purpose" program.

"Both the college and representatives from the State of Qatar expressed their pride in College of the North AtlanticQatar and its role as that country's premier technical college," CNA said in a news release on Tuesday.

"Both are looking forward to moving forward together while contributing to the national vision of the Middle East state."

In a statement, Education Minister Gerry Byrne said he was happy a deal was reached.

"Through strong partnerships, CNAQ will continue to deliver a quality education to the future leaders of the Qatari and global workforce," he wrote.

CNA saidthe deal is the largest international post-secondary agreement for a Canadian college. The buildings on the CNA campus are owned by the government of Qatar.