Student exchange programs can help strengthen Pak’s relations with Turkmenistan: Pirzada

ISLAMABAD, Nov 27 (APP): Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada has said that student exchange and scholarship programmes can help strengthen Pakistan’s brotherly relations with Turkmenistan.
He expressed these views during a meeting with the delegation of Joint Working Group of Pakistan and Turkmenistan on Education, Science and Technology from Turkmenistan.
The three-member delegation consisted of Turkmenistan’s Deputy Minister of Education Geldimammet Geldimammedov, Director National Institute of Manuscripts Annagurban Ashyrov and Turkmen Ambassador to Pakistan Atadjan Movlamov.
The delegation was briefed about the problems faced by Pakistani Students studying in Turkmenistan. Many Pakistani students studying in Central Asian Republics especially medical students face issues regarding accreditation.
The minister also shed light on the language barrier present between the people of both countries. He said that the government of Turkmenistan should consider introducing language courses for Pakistani students. In order to
overcome the language barrier, Turkmen language can also be taught as
an optional subject in Pakistani educational institutes.
He said that this step will help Pakistani students to connect with the students of Turkmenistan. Furthermore, this step will be beneficial for individuals seeking employment opportunities in TAPI  pipeline project.
Earlier, several important points were agreed upon during the 1st
meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on Education, Science and Technology held on November 25 in Islamabad. Some of these include Student Exchange programs, joint training programmes for academia and bilateral research based ventures. Both
sides have decided to hold the 2nd meeting of the JWG in Turkmenistan but the dates are yet to be decided. The Pakistani side of the JWG on Education, Science and Technology
was led by Joint Secretary CCI Aftab Jamal along with other senior
officials from the Ministry of IPC.