German Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Cyrill Nunn has said that co-operation in German-Pakistan educational and research institutes will be strengthened further in order to get the benefit from each other's experiences. He was talking to University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan at the university campus in which UAF faculty members who were also alumni of German Universities participated.
The German ambassador said the students and faculty exchange programme will be fortified. He said Germany was running world's third largest student and faculty exchange programme that will be beneficial for Pakistani scholars. He said many Pakistani students were getting education in Germany especially in engineering, botany, chemistry etc. He said Germany in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was offering tremendous scholarships to Pakistani students. He said that Germany believed on the internationalisation to work together for the development. He said that there was the room to further enhance the co-operation. He lauded the efforts of the UAF taken in the area of education and research. He said the climate change was one of the major threats and Germany was working with Pakistan to cope with the environmental issues.
UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the university strongly believes in maintaining the good relations and enjoying the excellent relations across the world. The university is running German funded International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDDW) projects to fight against global hunger and poverty through research and education. He said that further co-operation with German institutes will help in strengthening the agricultural sector which is directly linked to poverty alleviation. He said in Pakistan, the agriculture was the lifeline as the majority of the population was linked with the sector. He stressed the need of rural development and praised the government for increasing funds for the uplift of rural areas. He said that the enrolled students have touched the figure of 20,500. Keeping in view the UAF has recruited 130 new members in teaching staff in 2014 to lower the increasing burden on the teaching community. He said the UAF has planned to recruit 200 teachers this year.