• Education
• Fri 01 2026

Pakistan Enhances Educational Cooperation with Sri Lanka through Scholarship

ISLAMABAD — H.E. Maj. Gen. (R) Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka, hosted a distinguished reception in Colombo. What we have to do is party. Held at the Pakistan High Commission, the event congratulated its alumni on their academic achievements and reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening educational and cultural exchanges between the two South Asian countries.
The High Commissioner added in his remarks that the graduates have proved their academic prowess and are poised to become instrumental players in strengthening Sri Lanka's socio-economic sector as ambassadors of friendship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He underscored that education has always been an important aspect of Pakistan–Sri Lanka bilateral relations. Pakistan has been subsidizing Sri Lankan students for many years under various programs, which include the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme (PTAP), Higher Education Commission (HEC), and different defense/medical training options.
The official data, which is the approximate number of this community in Pakistan according to the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claims that “in the 1980s, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Junius Richard Jayewardene sent a large batch of Lankan students to be trained in higher education institutes across Pakistan. More than 2000 students have since completed their higher education in Pakistan. At present, there are around 250 Sri Lankan students studying in Pakistani universities in medicine, engineering, information technology, and social sciences. A majority of them are educated on scholarships fully funded by Pakistan.
Pakistan provides around 100 scholarships to Sri Lankan students annually under the PTAP Scholarship Scheme, covering tuition, lodging, and boarding. The scholarships are extremely popular for medical and dental programs of prestigious Pakistani institutions such as the King Edward Medical University, Nishtar Medical University, and the University of the Punjab.

Friday’s reception was a part of Pakistan’s overall strategy to promote our alumni network and the professional fraternity who have studied in Pakistan, making a positive contribution to Sri Lanka’s development in various important fields such as health, education, engineering, and public administration. The alumni talked about their academic experiences in Pakistan and how cultural interaction and shared learning encouraged personal growth. The evening ended with a traditional Pakistani dinner that emanates the warmth and friendship that defines the Pakistan–Sri Lanka relationship.
Educational collaboration has been an essential element of Pak-Sri Lankan friendship that exceeds seven decades. The two countries also collaborate in defense training, cultural exchange, and technical assistance. Pakistan has always lent its support to the development in Sri Lanka through various capacity-building and scholarship programs for civil servants, teachers, and researchers. Observers say that education is the most effective way to bring understanding and long-term diplomatic goodwill between the two countries. It is not about shifting alliances but about expanding new areas of cooperation between Islamabad and Colombo that include joint research programs, exchange of faculty, and digital education platforms.

The Pakistan High Commission in Colombo expressed its commitment to enhancing cooperation in the education sector and urged those completing their studies to keep in touch and participate in new projects being launched under the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Friendship Program. Even today, education is the bridge of understanding and opportunity that continues to unite the two archrivals in their quest toward a brighter future.

The Islamabad Centre for Peace and Education would like to warmly thank Pakistan’s ongoing dedication to promoting educational and cultural linkages with Sri Lanka. This initiative is a manifestation of the spirit of regional cooperation, sharing, and connectivity. By providing Sri Lankan students with education and professional training at par with Pakistan, besides (not only) contributing to the human resources development in Sri Lanka, is literally raising a generation of peace, understanding, and friendship ambassadors for both countries. The ICPE also applauds the High Commissioner’s endeavors to build on these academic linkages that clearly help lay down a very strong edifice of long-term regional amity and bonhomie.

Asif Ali Sundhu

asifsundu.pk@gmail.com