ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a new programme offering fully funded scholarships to hundreds of Bangladeshi students.
Under the Pakistan-Bangladesh Friendship Scholarship Programme, Islamabad will offer scholarships to 300 Bangladesh students in the country’s top universities.
Pakistan state-run television PTV News reported that a meeting was held at the Ministry of Education on Thursday to discuss the initiative to offer fully-funded scholarships to Bangladeshi students.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives from the high commission of Pakistan to Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consortium of the universities.
“During the meeting, officials urged universities to promote the programme in Bangladesh through events and an online portal,” according to PTV News.
The scholarships supported by Pakistan’s leading universities like NUST, Comsats, and LUMS seek to further enhance educational exchanges and cultural connections between the two countries.
Pakistan’s foreign office said that Islamabad sought “robust, multifaceted, friendly ties” with Bangladesh to ensure peace and stability in the region.
According to the education ministry, the main objective of the scholarship programme is to foster strong ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Pakistan-Bangladesh Relations Improving
After a long period of strained ties, relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh are witnessing a positive shift after the ousting of Indian-backed Sheikh Hasina’s government through a student movement on August 5.
After the establishment of an interim government, relations between Dhaka and Islamabad are witnessing improvement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held a meeting with Bangladesh Interim Government Chief Advisor Dr. Yunus in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in September.
Trade and direct air travel between Pakistan and Bangladesh had been suspended for years. However, recently, Pakistan and Bangladesh for the first time established a direct maritime route that decreased transit time from 25 days to 10 days.
