Islamabad offers 80 fully-funded scholarships to Damascus.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has offered 80 fully-funded scholarships to Syrian undergraduate and graduate students to study in Pakistani universities, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education on Sunday.

This was conveyed to Syrian authorities by Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain during his recent visit to Syria.

'During the delegation-level talks at the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain offered 80 fully-funded scholarships (undergraduate and graduate) to Syrian side under various programmes...including medicine, dentistry, engineering, physical, natural and applied sciences, agriculture, education, etc,' said the press release.

The minister, who returned from Syria after a three-day visit, also informed the Syrian government officials that 20 scholarships out of a total of 80 shall be offered at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) with preference to students from the National Centre for the Distinguished (NCD), Homs.

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The minister also mentioned that six-month fully funded (local hospitality) research fellowships at QAU were on offer for Syrian students and faculty members. While understanding the importance of the agriculture sector in both countries, the press release said the minister proposed a consortium of agriculture and livestock universities between Pakistani and Syrian universities which would encourage MSc and PhD scholars to carry out joint research relevant to common agriculture and livestock issues of both sides.

The consortium will nominate faculty for exchange visits between Pakistan and Syria as well as to provide research facilities for joint research endeavours. The minister said Pakistan would be represented by agriculture universities in Faisalabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Tandojam and Multan as well as by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.

The Pakistani side also offered...