US Consul General, Carmela Conroy has said that Pakistan has more exchange programmes with the US than any other country in the world. She was addressing the Eid Milan reception arranged in the honour of State Alumni, organised by the US Consulate General Lahore and Pak-US Alumni Network (Punjab Chapter).
The function was held in the honour of the Pakistanis who participated in the US State Department's sponsored exchange programmes. Carmela Conroy observed that Pakistani-American exchange dates back to the very moment of Pakistan's birth, when the US first established a Consulate in Lahore in 1947.
"Over the years, Lahore has been host to a number of prominent Americans, from jazz great Duke Ellington to President Nixon and to Hillary Clinton as First Lady, Senator and most recently, as Secretary of States. The US exchange programmes brought Pakistanis to the United States to share their experiences and also gain new knowledge to contribute to Pakistan.
"We are more alike than we are different. I hope the relations of both countries would strengthen in the years to come," she added. A large number of students, teachers, politicians and professionals who went in the exchange programmes attended the event.
These guests included Pakistani alumni from the Fullbright Programme, the International Visitor Leadership Programme, Hubert Humphery Fellowship, Study of the United States Institute Programme and Seeds of Peace. Among the prominent alumni personalities were Muhammad Mehdi, former provincial minister Rana Ikram Rubbani, Usman Pirzada, Faizan Pirzada, Madeeha Gohar and Shahid Nadeem.