Sri Lankan delegation discuss bilateral cooperation in academic sector during SSUET visit

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A eight-member Sri Lankan delegation, headed by Chairman, Puttalam Urban Council and also including Minister of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Sports & Youth Affairs, North Western Province recently visited Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, and exchanged matters of bilateral cooperation in the field of education. 

The delegation comprised K A Baiz, Mayor of Puttalam, Chief Government Organizer for Puttalam Electorate, N T M Thahir, Member of North Western Provincial Government, A M Kamardeen, Member of North Western Provincial Government, R A S Pushpakumara, Deputy Mayor of Puttalam, A O Alikhan, Opposition Leader for Puttalam, M T N Ameen, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Party Member for Puttalam Urban Council and W.M.M.B Weerasakara, Commissioner of Local Government and Representative of Governor of NWP. 

The Mayor of Puttalam and Chief Government Organizer for Puttalam Electorate, K A Baiz, stated that efforts were being made to improve bilateral cooperation in academic sector, for which vast potential existed between two countries. 

“We are planning to have interactive sessions with the officials of Sir Syed University to open its campus in Sri Lanka,” he added. 

Baiz appreciated the University’s role in helping the students in acquiring knowledge in modern technologies through highly competent and capable faculty and state of the art equipment. 

He was highly impressed with the presentation given by Prof. Shahid Saleem providing complete information about Sir Syed University with the help of statistics. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mayor Abdul Baiz emphasized the need to explore new avenues of bilateral economic and commercial cooperation. He was of the view that Puttalam Urban Council can join hands with SSUET in areas of mutual cooperation in the field of education. 

He informed that earlier there were only state universities in Sri Lanka as the government didn’t allow universities in private sector in the past. But now with a change in the policy, the government was considering to grant permission for opening campus of foreign universities in Sri Lanka. 

The SSUET Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Syed Jawaid Hassan Rizvi, Registrar Shah Mahmood Syed, Dean Engineering Prof Dr S.M Makhdumi, Prof Dr M A Haleem, Dr Faisal Bukhari, Dr Imran Beg and other faculty members were also present on the occasion.