CALIFORNIA: Pakistan and the United States are expanding cooperation in education sector and reconstitution of working group on education under Pak-US Strategic Dialogue has provided an important mechanism for an extensive engagement in this field.
This was stated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani while addressing a seminar at University of California.
The ambassador said the two countries intend to double joint fund for joint research grants under the US-Pakistan Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. During their meeting held in October last year, he said President Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had expressed their mutual desire to expand bilateral ties in areas including education, science and technology and there have been several initiatives since to facilitate an already extensive US-Pakistan cooperation. “The reinstitution of the Education, Science, and Technology Working Group, under the aegis of Pak-US Strategic Dialogue in June 2015 had provided an important mechanism that would facilitate the already extensive US-Pakistan cooperation,” he added.
Pakistan and the United States in February this year signed a MoU in which Pakistan will fund up to 125 additional Pakistani PhD scholars to study in the United States through the Fulright scholarship programme.
“We intend to train 10,000 PhDs by 2025 at US universities,” the ambassador said, adding that 23 existing partnerships between US and Pakistani universities were making critical contributions to cultural and intellectual exchange. The ambassador said that the Fulbright programme was promoting mutual understanding between the people of both the countries through educational and cultural exchange.
“The fact that Pakistan has the largest Fulbright Foreign Student Programme in the world highlights the importance both countries attach to higher education. It demonstrates the long-term commitment of both the countries to nurture and reinforce their ongoing partnership,” he added.
During visit of Maryam Safdar in October 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama had launched a new initiative Let Girls Learn (LGL) in which the US has committed an initial funding of $70 million to the said programme.
