US embassy encourages more Pakistani students to study in America

Monday, March 28, 2011

ISLAMABAD: The US Embassy and US Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) co-sponsored a college fair at local hotel here on March 26-27 with representatives from 11 American universities to encourage more students to study in the USA.

This was the first time that so many American representatives have travelled together to Pakistan. This programme is part of the US government’s efforts to increase the number of Pakistani students who attend university in the United States, a press release of the US Embassy issued here on Sunday said.

Speaking at the fair’s closing ceremony, Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs Mark Davidson said, “The United States has a long tradition of embracing foreign students. We want more Pakistani students to enrich our classrooms and benefit from our world-class universities. Our doors are open to Pakistanis to study in the US.”

Of the 650,000 foreign students who attended US universities last year, over 5,000 were from Pakistan. The fair included representatives from small liberal arts colleges, including an all women’s school, to medium and large public universities.

“The participation of 11 representative’s show that US universities are very interested in hosting Pakistani students,” said USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar. “This fair furthers our mission of promoting mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and the United States through educational and cultural exchange.”

In addition to meeting hundreds of prospective students and parents in Islamabad, the university representatives spoke to hundreds more in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar via digital video conferences.