University of Oxford  delegation concludes visit to Islamabad

Islamabad : The Oxford Pakistan Programme concluded a week-long visit of a high-level delegation from the University of Oxford to Islamabad. This was a historic visit by senior faculty from Oxford University.

During their two days in Islamabad, the delegation held several high-profile meetings with senior officials of the government, ministers and with the President of Pakistan.

“Pakistan has a youth bulge country and several initiatives have been taken particularly in the education sector by the government to facilitate them, while stressing the delegation to further expand the cooperation between Oxford University and Pakistan so that more students could be benefited.

Identifying challenges facing the higher education sector, the they said the country needs to exert efforts on improving the quality and ensuring relevance of higher education and research. “Research is the pivotal role and there is a need to focus on research while creating links with the Oxford and Pakistan’s research centers.

The OPP is the first initiative of its kind through which a concerted effort is being made to support a long-term presence for Pakistan-related activities at the University of Oxford.

The delegation was also given a tour of the Walled City in Lahore.
On their way to Lahore, the Oxford delegation stopped at Bhera where they attended a cultural event held in their honour on the banks of the River Jhelum. This included bull racing, tent pegging and sufi music.
In Lahore, the delegation held a high-profile panel discussion at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

The delegates were hugely impressed with their Pakistan visit and expressed their strong resolve to address Pakistan’s underrepresentation in Oxford.