3rd CPEC Consortium of Universities to enhance cooperation among Pak-China

Two day 3rd annual conference of the CPEC Consortium of Universities held in Islamabad to review progress and make efforts in the field of exchanges and researches.

3rd CPEC Consortium of Universities to enhance cooperation among Pak-ChinaThe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Consortium of Universities promised to enhance collaboration in the fields of business studies, science and technology for the benefit of the societies of the two countries.

Government officials, universities’ heads, professors, researchers and students from both countries were participated in the two day 3rd annual conference of the CPEC Consortium of Universities.

Vice President of the China Association of Higher Education, Guan Peijun said on the occasion that the CPEC Consortium of Universities is playing an active role as Pak-China cooperation in higher education has been highly efficient, practical, and offering deep researches for CPEC.

He further said “Universities of the two countries have jointly carried out work of scientific research, teacher exchanges and training, and have achieved fruitful results.”

He urged from the universities of the two countries to jointly carry out scientific researches and achieve scientific breakthroughs for the development of the both countries.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar addressing the conference said that the Chinese government was investing $1 billion in socio-economic sector in two years including cooperation in higher education.

He urged for the requirement of concrete research for evaluating the different potential sectors to harmonize bilateral socio-economic development.

He further said “We have broadened the cooperation through CPEC, in areas of socio-economic development, agriculture, industries, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people contacts through the universities for enhancing the multilateral relations between the two countries and to shape future economic growth”.

The CPEC Consortium of Universities was founded in 2017 under the auspices of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and the China Association of Higher Education. Its main aim was to promote business-to-business linkages between China and Pakistan, but later on its scope was expanded to other subjects and the number of member universities also increased from 19 to 58 within a period of two years.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing informed the audience that the universities consortium on CPEC would play a vital role in the completion of mega projects.

He added that the Chinese government has sponsored 100 modern classrooms, 10 agriculture research centers in Pakistani institutions and increased the number of scholarships for Pakistani students.

He highlighted that the next stage of CPEC would be more people-oriented where students, academia, universities, institutions would be the main players in the China-Pakistan cooperation.

He added that the next stage of CPEC would be technology-based and universities can provide research-based solutions for the progress, which can be beneficial for societies of the two countries.

The conference was followed by the inauguration of a two-day Pak-China Higher Education Expo and a Science, Art and Technology Exhibition in combination with Islamabad Art Festival, which includes cultural activities covering all possible elements of visual and performing art.