ANKARA, July 25 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been conferred an honorary doctorate today by the Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University (AYBU) at the Council of Higher Education here.

The doctorate in political sciences and public administration was awarded in recognition of among others, his contribution to modernise and industrialise Malaysia in his previous term.

"Under his leadership, Malaysia was transformed from an agricultural country to a modern, industrial nation,” the university said in a statement.

In Malaysia, Dr Mahathir is deemed as the so-called Father of Modern Malaysia, in recognition of his previous 22-year term as prime minister.

He was presented with the doctorate by the Council’s president Prof M. A. Yekta Sarac, while his biography and justification of the decision was read by the university’s rector Prof Ibrahim Aydinli.

The university also said that Dr Mahathir was conferred with the award for establishing bilateral relations with Turkey, in addition to his important role in developing cooperation on regional and global issues.

The honorary doctorate was the third to be awarded to political leaders following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

AYBU was established in 2010, promising to be a breath of fresh air in the country’s higher education field.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah attend a ceremony at the Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara July 25, 2019. — Bernama pic