Pakistani students graduating from KSA are Kingdom’s goodwill ambassadors

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi embassy on Friday night held the first forum of Pakistani graduates from the universities of Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom has been offering scholarships for Pakistani students to complete their higher education at the varsities of KSA.
The grand hall of an upscale hotel in the Pakistani capital was jam-packed with more than 200 graduates, educated mostly in Shariah law and Islamic teaching.
Ali bin Mohammad Hosswai, cultural attaché at the Saudi embassy, while addressing the gathering, said he thought this was the first interactive session with students educated in the KSA but that it was just the beginning. “We will have many more in future,” he said.
Tamar Al-Abdullah, another diplomat dealing with cultural affairs at the embassy, told Arab News that “the Pakistani students had been traveling to the Kingdom over decades and completed their higher education in different universities in the KSA.
“The Kingdom provided them with scholarships besides free stay, travel and stipend, everything they needed.”
Dr. Qasim Ashraf, a Pakistan educationist in the Faculty of Shariah Law at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, completed his doctorate at Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh.
“I stayed in the Kingdom from 1992 to 1998. It was a really good experience and I think these scholarships are very important for Pakistani students. There are fine universities in Kingdom for Shariah law, Islamic studies, and Arabic language,” he told Arab News.
“My PhD from the Kingdom played a key role in my educational career.”
Another attendee at the event, Dr. Muhammad Ubaid Ullah, told Arab News he was in the Kingdom on a scholarship program from 1982 to 1997.
“I completed my PhD in Islamic jurisprudence from Umm Al-Qura University,” he said. “The government and people of the Kingdom gave us and our families immense respect and provided us with the best educational facilities.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed close and friendly relations for decades.
After defense cooperation, the states are now working to enhance business-to-business ties and cultural exchange.
“There are so many people, scholars, in Pakistan who completed their education in KSA. They are the ambassadors of the Kingdom in Pakistan,” said Ullah.
Participants at the event said that during their studies they acted as Pakistan’s cultural ambassadors in KSA.