- Pakistan and Ukraine can benefit from each other’s history
Ukraine’s Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University Institute of International Relations’ Professor Dr Bordilovska on Monday delivered a lecture at the Karachi University.
The lecture was delivered during a seminar organised by the university’s Student Guidance and Counseling Bureau. Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Karachi Engineer Abdul Jabbar Memon was the chief guest.
Department of International Relations Chairperson Prof Dr Shaista Tabassum was also present on the occasion and exchanged souvenirs and memorabilia with Dr Bordilovaska. Faculty of Social Sciences Dean Prof Dr Muhammad Ahmed Qadri invited Dr Bordilovaska to serve on the Editorial Board on the Research Journal of Social Sciences which she accepted.
Dr Olena Bordilovska, on the occasion, said that Ukraine is the only country in the world that has given up its nuclear arsenal and in spite of serious threats comfortably surviving by employing multilateral diplomatic strategies.
She said at one point in history Ukraine was under the influence of three different international forces namely Russia, Poland and Ottomans. The orthodox Catholicism brought Ukraine closer to Russia. There is around one percent Muslim population in Ukraine which is the second largest country in Europe.
Dr Bordilovska emphasised that Ukraine and Pakistan have a lot in common regarding international affairs and could be benefitted by each other’s experiences. Institute of International Relations in Ukraine may offer an exchange experience to the faculty as well as students of the University of Karachi, she said.
Dr Bordilovaska also talked about famous scholar Muhammad Asad, formerly known as Leopold Weiss before he embraced Islam. Muhammad Asad is the author of “Road to Mecca” which remained a best seller in Pakistan for a long time. She told that the part of Hungry where Asad born in 1900 is now a part of Ukraine.
Dr Bordilovaska has been a visiting lecturer at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India (2005, 2007), Jagiellonian University, Poland (2013), and American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2015), delivering lectures on Ukraine-Russia-European Union relationship and crises management.
During the ceremony, Honorary Consul of Ukraine Engineer Abdul Jabbar Memon said that the interaction of intelligentsia from Ukraine and Pakistan is inevitable. International events occurring in this part of the world from South Asia to Central Europe have never been more critical than today. Timely, research and analysis of international affairs certainly has potential to guide nations in the right direction.