Early return of Pakistani students to China hinted

Islamabad : Hopefully, Pakistani students will soon return to China to resume pandemic-hit education, said External Security Commissioner (Cross Agency Working Group of China) Cheng Gouping on Thursday.

"Limitations due to COVID–19 in China have been a downward trajectory. We hope that Pakistani students will soon be able to travel to China to continue their education," Cheng Gouping told Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain during a meeting here. The meeting was attended by a Chinese delegation and senior officials of the ministry.

The minister said the relationship between China and Pakistan was deeper than the Sea and the two countries were iron brothers.

He offered condolences to the visitors at the recent terrorist attack near the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute, which led to the death of three Chinese citizens. The minister said the cultural and educational exchange was pivotal in strengthening the relationship between China and Pakistan. He said the cultural and educational exchange should not be allowed to be affected by such cowardly attacks as it enhanced the trade and economy of both countries.

Mr. Cheng Gouping said China highly valued its relationship with Pakistan. He said Pakistan had 300 Chinese students and that China deemed it important to enhance people-to-people exchange. "The security of Chinese citizens is of high importance. We wish to work with Pakistani authorities for the safety of our citizens in the country," he said.

The minister assured the Chinese delegation of the highest standard of security for students at the University Campuses. He said all of the relevant organizations in Pakistan will be taken on board to ensure maximum security is provided to Chinese students and teachers. The minister said there were 6,000 Pakistani students, who wanted to go back to China to resume their education.

He said 250 students were returning to China soon, while hopefully, the others would follow suit soon.

Both sides agreed to enhance the security of Chinese students and teachers to ensure that people-to-people exchanges are not affected so that bilateral trade between the two countries can continue to grow. Earlier, Rana Tanveer Hussain during a meeting with a delegation of the World Bank and the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said there is a dire need for a national response to the crisis of out-of-school children as well as a decline in foundational learning due to COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the biggest challenges that Pakistan faces today. The government is striving to provide access to schools and relevant facilities to students across the country.