From the 1950s till today, education has been a robust link between Pakistan & United States: Sardar Masood Khan

WASHINGTON, July 24 (SABAH): “From the 1950s till today, education has been a robust link between Pakistan and United States,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan.

“Last year was a good year because the number increased to 8000, registering 17% increase. This number should further increase given our population and the number of students coming out of universities of Pakistan,” he said. “We must have more students here in the United States,” stressed the Ambassador.

Sardar Masood Khan was addressing a batch of 25 visiting Pakistani students under ‘Study of the US Institutes’ (SUSI) program and visited the Embassy of Pakistan Washington DC for call on the Ambassador. 

SUSI is a 5-week long educational initiative for fostering cross-cultural understanding and promoting education cooperation between Pakistan and the United States. The program, held annually since 2010, provides young minds with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in American society, history, and values.

The Ambassador congratulated the students on their selection for an enriching SUSI program. “You have made us proud,” he said. The Ambassador told the students that it was a unique opportunity for them to visit US seats of learning, enriching their experience and broaden their intellectual horizon. “You will take valuable inputs from here back to your own environments. And this is a process of cross fertilization. Intellectual capabilities recognize no boundaries. Your peers and also the environments in which you work, they will benefit directly from your experience,” said the Ambassador.

Highlighting imitation, emulation, and innovation as the three key stages for societal progress, the Ambassador expressed the hope that the extraordinary experience would empower the visiting students to replicate and adopt what they have observed and experienced during their stay in the United States.

The Ambassador reminded the students that they represented a rich civilization having an experience of seventy five years in nation building and surviving many upheavals. “This short course should inspire you to come back, to interface our two countries, to enrich shared intellectual heritage of our two nations,” he said.

Sardar Masood Khan thanked the U.S. government and all those involved in organizing the SUSI program for their commitment and support to promote educational cooperation between the two countries. He also appreciated University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the US mentors for hosting the visiting fellows. The Ambassador urged the visiting students to nurture the contacts that they have made with their peers and US counterparts and building their networks. “Your net-worth would be determined by your networks in your future lives,” he added.

The Ambassador also interacted with the participants and invited them to share their thoughts about the program and its learning experience. While sharing their experiences, the participants emphasized both the commonalities and distinctions between Pakistan and the United States. They lauded remarkable organizational skills that they observed at the individual and societal levels, the formulation and execution of policies at state and federal level, the interactive environment, the appreciation of diversity, the spirit of inclusivity, the provision of equal opportunities and presence of an informed and vigilant citizenry to guard their rights and discharge their responsibilities. They also noted relentless pursuit of the American dream as a defining aspect of US society.

The Ambassador extended his best wishes for their future endeavors and looked forward to their continued contributions to strengthening Pak-US relations.