High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Fred Senevirathne, met the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan Niaz Ahmad Akhtar on 10 March 2026 to discuss avenues for further strengthening educational cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
During the meeting, the High Commissioner expressed appreciation for the generosity of the Government of Pakistan in awarding 1,000 scholarships to Sri Lankan students under the Allama Iqbal Scholarship Programme which was launched in 2018. He noted that the initiative has provided valuable opportunities for Sri Lankan youth to pursue higher education in Pakistan.
The High Commissioner highlighted that almost 700 of these scholarship opportunities have already been utilized by Sri Lankan students, and hundreds of them have successfully graduated in diverse fields including medicine, engineering, information technology, cyber security and many other disciplines from various universities in Pakistan. He underscored the positive impact of the programme in enhancing academic exchange and strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries. He sought the possibility of renewing the existing scholarship programme so that a greater number of Sri Lankan students could benefit from higher education opportunities in Pakistan.
The Chairman welcomed the continued engagement between the two countries in the field of education and acknowledged the strong academic performance and discipline demonstrated by Sri Lankan students studying in Pakistani universities. He reaffirmed the Higher Education Commission’s commitment to promoting international academic collaboration. He also took note of the request regarding the renewal of the scholarship programme and assured that the Higher Education Commission would extend its fullest cooperation towards supporting initiatives aimed at further strengthening educational ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Head of Chancery A Christy Ruban and the Minister, Chathurika Sankapali accompanied the High Commissioner to the meeting. Director General, HRD Ayesha Ikram and the Project Director of the Scholarship Programme Jehanzeb Khan from HEC were also present at the meeting.
Sri Lanka High Commission
Islamabad
17 March 2026
