ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP): HEC Pakistan and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) have agreed to explore opportunities for faculty and student exchanges, joint scholarship programmes, and enhanced academic collaboration.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between H.E. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General, ALECSO, and Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Chairman HEC, at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General, OIC-COMSTECH, also attended the meeting.
The discussions focused on strengthening partnerships between ALECSO member countries and Pakistani higher education institutions.
The Chairman HEC highlighted the scholarships already offered to students from ALECSO member countries and welcomed more Arab students to pursue higher education in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan offers quality higher education at comparatively low cost and has strong potential to become an educational hub for students from the Arab world.
He also highlighted HEC’s initiative to introduce the Fehm-e-Quran (Understanding of the Holy Quran) course as a mandatory degree requirement for university students in Pakistan, and expressed interest in engaging qualified Arabic teachers to support the initiative.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening academic and cultural ties, building on the longstanding religious and cultural bonds between Pakistan and the Arab world.
They agreed to maintain close coordination to identify concrete areas of cooperation, including joint research, curriculum development and capacity building programmes for faculty and students.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
