Pak Lankan Institutions signs MoUs to promote academic and cultural cooperation

Lankan Students to get Scholarships for PhD, MPhil, MSc, BS, in Social, Management Sciences, other Disciplines

Colombo: Pakistan’s largest Private Sector University, Preston University has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Sri Lanka’s College of Information Management & Sciences and the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association, towards  collaboration in a variety of fields in an impressive ceremony held at the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo.

The High Commissioner of Pakistan, Maj Gen(R) Syed Shakeel Hussain witnessed the signing ceremony along with the officers of High Commission as well as Members and office bearers of Sri Lanka’s College of Information Management & Sciences and of the 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 organisations.

Under the said MoUs, all sides agreed to promote academic and cultural cooperation, peace, harmony and understanding amongst the academic and cultural community and civic society organisations of the two countries. The parties to the MoUs will also explore and promote opportunities to undertake joint research in areas of mutual interest. They will also actively collaborate and cooperate for dissemination of knowledge through sharing of publications and papers, organising conferences and seminars and undertaking joint publications of research works.

High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major Gen(R) Syed Shakeel Hussain with the Pakistani Delegation, and members and office bearers of SLPAFTIA and SLCIMS

The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Maj Gen(R) Syed Shakeel Hussain said that these MoUs will facilitate all types of academic and cultural linkages and collaborative activities between the faculty, students and members of all these entities. The High Commissioner added that these agreements will also promote and facilitate exchange of students and possible offering of scholarships on mutually agreed modalities and arrangements.

While speaking on the occasion, 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.

Prof. Zulfiqar Ali Qureshi invited both the Sri Lankan bodies as well as the High Commission of Pakistan to send scholars to the two upcoming international conferences being held in Pakistan. The first conference titled “China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation: Challenges and Options” being planned  under the auspices of Preston University from  14-15 March in Islamabad and the other conference titled “Sacred Art and Architecture in Islam and Buddhism” from  10-11 October  under the auspices of Society of Civilisations Pakistan in collaboration with World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth, Thailand. The scholars presenting papers will be provided local hospitality (accommodation, food and local traveling) while the cost of international tickets will be borne by the scholars themselves. 

The 8-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 tour.