COLOMBO: The “Pakistan Alumni Society of Sri Lanka” (PASS) was launched at a local hotel in Colombo on Wednesday with a vision to “re-connect alumni for greater collective good”.
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Ms Tehmina Janjua was the chief guest on the occasion and launched the alumni society in the presence of a large gathering including Sri Lankan ministers, dignitaries and representatives from armed forces, educational institutions and academia, as well as people from other walks of life.
The alumni society has been created with an aim to connect universities from both countries under various scholarship programmes. Through it, public and private sectors together with the civil society will be able to build networks and create professional opportunities that will contribute toward the promotion of education and development of the two countries.
Addressing the gathering, the foreign secretary said that Pakistan has excelled in many fields of higher education and particularly in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, management and social sciences. She said that Pakistan provided a wonderful and cost-efficient opportunity for talented Sri Lankan students. Thousands of Sri Lankan students and professionals have benefitted from education and training in Pakistan over the past several decades, she added.
Janjua also recalled the former prime minister’s visit to Sri Lanka in 2016, in which he offered to develop a “knowledge corridor” between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with an aim to provide scholarships and training to Sri Lankan students and civil and military personnel in Pakistani universities and training institutions. She emphasised that the “Prime Minister’s Pak-Lanka Knowledge Corridor” would open up immense opportunities for Sri Lankan nationals to study in higher education institutions of Pakistan on scholarships and highly concessional terms.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner-designate to Sri Lanka Dr Shahid Ahmad Hashmat also spoke on the occasion, saying that the alumni society will provide its members with the means to learn and to integrate and share their experiences for the benefit of a larger community. He applauded the office bearers of the newly formed society and wished them success in their efforts to make it a successful and future-oriented body.
Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Dr Sarfraz Sipra briefed the audience about the prospects, vision and mission statement of the alumni society, and announced the names of the interim board members who would perform their duties until the first general meeting of the society in six months.
All Sri Lankan citizens who have received professional qualifications from or attended training programmes in Pakistan are eligible to join the Society.
