‘Pakistan to seek Belarus support in skill development’

• Belarus, Kyrgyzstan envoys separately call on Shafqat Mahmood in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said that Pakistan will seek and benefit from the support and expertise of Belarus in the field of skill development and now exploring new avenues of cooperation in the field of education and skill development.

He stated this during a call on meeting with Ambassador of Belarus Andrei Ermolovich. The meeting was also attended by Federal Education Secretary Arshad Mirza. Welcoming the envoy, Shafqat said that Pakistan and Belarus enjoy good relations in the fields of education and professional training.

“Education is our government’s top most priority and we would like to promote our cooperation with Belarus in this field,” he said, adding that a number of memorandums of understandings and protocols have been signed between Pakistan and Belarus. “We need to work on their rapid implementation and further strengthening this cooperation,” he said.

The minister said that the Joint Ministerial Committee on Education between the two countries would be made more efficient and effective. He also thanked the ambassador for the technical support that was provided to Pakistan by Belarus in the establishment of the Skill University.

Andrei Ermolovich congratulated the minister on assuming the office and said that a number of agreements and protocols have been signed by Belarus with all the major universities and with the provincial and federal government for the promotion of education between the two countries.

“We will provide Pakistan all out support in the fields of education and skill development besides the implementation of existing protocols which can work on new projects,” he said. Both the sides agreed to hold further meetings and to coordinate for the progress of education and increased cooperation between both the countries.

Earlier, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan Erik Beishembiev was also called on by the minister here and discussed with him the prospects of Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan cooperation in the field of education. Both the sides agreed on the establishment of linkages between universities of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan in the field of medical, agriculture, defence and strategic studies and agreed to work for the promotion of the skill development.