ANKARA, Turkey: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Sohail Mahmood has said that efforts were underway for forging collaborative linkages between Pakistani and Turkish Universities through signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and for strengthening student and faculty exchanges under the “Mevlana Exchange” Programme.
In his address at “Pakistan Day” celebrations organized by Pakistani students of Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara on Thursday, the envoy congratulated the students on organizing the event and highlighted growing Pakistan-Turkey cooperation in diverse fields.
![PAKISTANS AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY SOHAIL MAHMOOD AND VICE RECTOR OF METU PROF. DR. NEVZAT ÖZGÜVEN ADDRESSING THE PARTICIPANTS OF RICH PAKISTANI CULTURE SHOWCASED AT NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS IN ANKARA ON MAY 12, 2016.](http://www.dnd.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Pakistan-Day”-celebrations-in-Ankara.jpg)
The ambassador expressed satisfaction over the increasing number of Pakistani students in Turkish Universities and hoped that more Turkish students would also go for studies in Pakistan as part of growing people-to-people exchanges.
Sohail Mahmood also lauded the efforts of Pakistani students for projecting Pakistan’s rich and diverse culture and assured continued support of Pakistan Embassy for such initiatives.
In “Pakistan Day” celebrations, the METU students showcased rich Pakistani culture through an array of performances including folk dances, a medley of Pakistani pop songs, comedy play ‘Harry Potter comes to Pakistan’ and display of truck art.
Besides Sohail Mahmood and Vice Rector of METU Professor Dr. Nevzat Özgüven, a large number of Pakistani, Turkish and international students, and faculty members also attended the event.
Separately, Pakistani students also actively participated in the annual fair of the Federation of International Students Associations as well as in the International Day organized by Hacettepe University, Ankara.