COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Pakistan and Sri Lanka Tuesday inked Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to promote academic and cultural cooperation, peace, harmony and understanding amongst the academic and cultural community and civic society organizations of the two countries.
The agreements were signed between Pakistan’s private sector institution; Preston University with Sri Lanka’s College of Information Management & Sciences and Sri Lanka-Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association for collaboration, here at the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo.
The High Commissioner of Pakistan Maj Gen (Retd) Syed Shakeel Hussain witnessed the signing ceremony along with the officers of High Commission and members and office bearers of Sri Lanka’s College of Information Management and Sciences and Sri Lanka-Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association.
Professor Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Qureshi, Anwar M. Mustafa and Iftikhar Aziz signed the MoUs on behalf of their respective organizations.
The parties to the MoUs will also explore and promote opportunities to undertake joint research in areas of mutual interest, a statement from the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo said.
They will also actively collaborate and cooperate for dissemination of knowledge through sharing of publications and papers, organizing conferences and seminars and undertaking joint publications of research works.
The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Maj Gen (Retd) Syed Shakeel Hussain said the MoUs would facilitate academic and cultural linkages and collaborative activities between the faculty, students and members of all these entities.
The High Commissioner said the agreements will promote and facilitate exchange of students and offer scholarships on mutually agreed modalities and arrangements.
Professor Qureshi announced two scholarships to the students of BS, MSc. MPhil and PhD in the disciplines of Social and Management Sciences and other disciplines of Preston University for the Universities and other bodies of Sri Lanka working in the academic fields. The scholarship will be processed through the High Commission of Pakistan.
He invited Sri Lanka and the High Commission of Pakistan to send scholars for the two upcoming international conferences being held in Pakistan.
The conference; “China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation: Challenges and Options” being held under the auspices of Preston University on 14th & 15th March will be held in Islamabad.
The conference on “Sacred Art and Architecture in Islam and Buddhism” will be held on 10th & 11th Oct under the auspices of Society of Civilizations Pakistan in collaboration with World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth, Thailand.
The eight-member delegation of Pakistani Professors and PhD scholars led by Prof. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Qureshi, Head of Department of International Relations, Preston University of Pakistan is in Sri Lanka on a week-long field study visit.
Source: APP
