The Australian High Commissioner, Tim George, on Thursday bid farewell to 52 Australian scholarship recipients who are about to begin Masters-level study in Australia. The scholarships, which highlight the strong development partnership between Australia and Pakistan, have been awarded under two programmes.
The Australian Development Scholarships Programme and the AusAID-Carnegie Mellon University Scholarships Programme. Scholars will study in the areas of health, education, natural resource management, social sciences, governance, information technology, law and legal studies. The High Commissioner said the scholarships were intended for emerging leaders in Pakistan and the region.
"The Australian Scholarships Programme aims to contribute to the long-term development needs of Pakistan, promoting good governance, economic growth and human development." "These scholarships will provide Pakistani professionals with the necessary skills and knowledge to drive change and influence development outcomes in Pakistan by obtaining relevant tertiary qualifications at high quality Australian higher education institutions."
At the completion of their studies, scholars will return to Pakistan to contribute to the development of the country. Many previous scholarship holders have become leaders in government, the private sector and non-government organisations.
Complementing these existing scholarship programmes, Australia's Prime Minister announced an increase in Australia's support for Pakistan following the Friends of Democratic Pakistan Summit in New York on 25 September 2009. This increase included a commitment of 100 more Agriculture Scholarships for Pakistanis, to be awarded over a period of four years.
Scholarships play a vital role in building lasting relationships with countries in the region. Up to 1,100 Australian Development Scholarships are awarded each year across 37 countries, with scholarships awarded equally between men and women.
Australia recently doubled its development assistance to Pakistan and will provide approximately $58.8 million in assistance in 2009-10. Bilateral programmes focus on improving health and education, building agricultural linkages with Pakistan, and providing scholarships at Australian institutions.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.