LAHORE:Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman on Friday hosted Dr Mustafa Ayden of the Eurasian University Union from Turkey at the Governor’s House.

Rectors and academics of private sector universities were also present.

The governor said the government was paying special attention to promote higher education in the country and bring it on a par with the international standards. He said as the chancellor, he had taken various measures for improvement of universities in the public and private sector in Punjab.

The governor said he had formed consortia on the seven most important areas and the universities are working together on these consortia. He said that he was focusing on promoting synergy between the universities, adding that the public and private sector universities could benefit better from each other’s experiences.

Balighur Rehman said Pakistan and Turkiye had unprecedented historical and fraternal relations, adding that the two countries are bound in a strong relationship in terms of religion, culture and history.

Dr Mustafa Ayden of the Western University Union, speaking on the occasion, said there is great potential in higher education in Pakistan. Dr. Mustafa Aiden said that the meetings with university authorities in Lahore remained very useful. He said that thousands of Pakistani students are studying in Turkish universities. He said that the private sector was playing important role in promotion of higher education.

Dr. Mustafa Ayden said that Lahore is a historical city and there is great learning opportunity by seeing the historical places here. He said that Pakistan was the first to help the earthquake victims in Turkey. He said that the people of Turkiye could not forget the love of Pakistanis for them. Dr. Mustafa Ayden thanked the Punjab governor for inviting him to Governor’s House and invited his host to attend the conference in Turkiye as a special guest.

Chairman Superior University Prof. Dr. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman said that Dr. Mustafa Aydan’s visit to Pakistan would create opportunities for further improvement in the higher education sector of the country.

The Punjab governor presented a souvenir to Dr. Mustafa Aydan. His wife presented a traditional Punjab chador (shawl) to the wife of Dr. Mustafa Aydan while Dr. Mustafa Aydan presented traditional Turkish souvenirs to the governor.