ISLAMABAD, Jul 28 (APP):The government of Saudi Arabia has announced to provide the latest educational equipment worth Rs 3 billion to the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) to further equip recently completed state of the art King Abdullah campus of the institution.
Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki, announced this, while addressing an agreement signing ceremony held at Kashmir House here on Thursday.
Under the agreement, Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) would provide modern educational instructional kits for the science and IT labs of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Campus of the university.
Addressing on the occasion, Ambassador Maliki said that the important project in education would directly help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
He added that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the SFD, provided more than 333 million dollars to implement 23 projects in various parts of Pakistan.
“Through these grants, quality projects are being completed in the sectors of education, health and infrastructure development besides cooperating with several international organizations, such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the United Nations Office for Project Services”, he disclosed.
Highlighting the brotherly relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the ambassador said that developmental projects being implemented would further strengthen these relations between the two countries.
He assured that government of KSA will continue to help Pakistan achieve its development targets in various sectors through the SFD.
Speaking at the ceremony, former Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz thanked the Saudi government for its consistent cooperation in the fields of education and health in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. “The government and people of Saudi Arabia have always extended invaluable cooperation to Pakistan for which we are indebted to them”, he said.
The PTI leader said that the revolutionary steps taken by his party government to provide quality healthcare facilities to the people on their doorsteps in KPK province needs to be extended to other provinces of the country and AJK.
In their speeches, AJK Minister for Health Nisar Ansar Abdali and Finance Minister Abdul Majid Khan expressed their profound gratitude to the government of Saudi Arabia for their unforgettable contribution during relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the quake hit areas of the state.
They, on behalf of the government of Azad Kashmir thanked Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki for taking keen interest in the field of education in the liberated territory.
The state ministers also congratulated the Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi and his team for their consistent efforts to get Saudi funding for the development of the state’s premier institution of higher learning.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the VC thanked Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially the Saudi Fund for Development, for providing generous funding to construct King Abdullah Campus, one of the most beautiful educational facilities in the country.
The VC added that the state-of-the-art King Abdullah Campus would not only provide the best educational facility to the thousands of male and female students of AJK but will also significantly help the promotion of quality education and research activities.
Highlighting the facilities being provided in the King Abdullah Campus of the university, Dr. Abbasi said that the generous support extended by the SFD would benefit more than 7,000 students of 14 academic departments and institutes to carry out their educational and research ventures.
Meanwhile, the officials of Saudi Fund for Development and representatives of UAJK and health department of KPK signed an agreement in presence of Saudi Ambassador, officials of Economic Affairs Division and the Vice Chancellor.
