On Tuesday, June 22, 2022, the Indonesian Consul General in Istanbul, Imam As'ari, with his staff, Mrs. Diyah, and Mrs. Elisabet, welcomed delegations from UIN Sunan Kalijaga. The representatives of UIN Sunan Kalijaga consisted of the dean of the Faculty of Adab and Cultural Sciences, Dr. Muhammad Wildan, M.A., Dr. Ubaidillah, S.S., M.Hum. Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ibn Burdah, S.Ag. M.A., and some students who participated in the 6th International Arabic language debate competition, a prestigious Arabic debate event organized by Qatar Debate, a committee under the Qatar Foundation that organized the event every two years. This year, Turkey became the host country, from June 17 to 23, 2022, and Indonesia sent two debate teams, the first from UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta and the second from UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim, Malang.

At this event, Dr. Muhammad Wildan, MA. was delivering a remark on the goals of building MoU between the faculty and several universities in Istanbul, such as Marmara University and Istanbul University. Imam As’ari responded positively after hearing the news and corrected the MoU draft to reach a win-win solution.

Moreover, the four students expressed their pride in representing Indonesia on the international stage. They presented the battles against Algeria, Norway, Canada, and UIN Malang at the elimination rounds. Unfortunately, after beating Algeria and UIN Malang, UIN Sunan Kalijaga lost three times and was eliminated in the last 16 rounds.

“Although we are unfortunate to participate in the final round, we are proud because the UIN Sunan Kalijaga team is ranked 40 out of 92 in this prestigious event," Riyan said. In addition to this, Riyan became the 11th-ranked non-native group (non-native speakers).

Imam As'ari, then, motivated the delegates not to be lost-heart. He said, "If we lose, it is normal. However, if we win, it is extraordinary, so now we have to polish our lacks". Furthermore, he hopes that the Indonesian delegation will remain big-hearted and be able to spread positive vibes to other Indonesian students. He believes that Indonesian students can compete at the international level.