An 18-member delegation of Turkish higher education leaders, led by Prof Dr Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Türkiye, has arrived in Pakistan for a three-day visit focused on expanding academic and institutional cooperation between the two countries.
The visit opened with a high-level meeting at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat in Islamabad, bringing together the Turkish delegation, senior HEC management and vice chancellors of leading universities from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Welcoming the Turkish delegation, HEC Chairman Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar underscored the importance of closer engagement between higher education leadership in Pakistan and Türkiye. He said the visit would provide an opportunity to identify new avenues for academic collaboration, strengthen research partnerships and promote greater mobility of students and faculty between the two countries.
The discussions also focused on enhancing institutional linkages and encouraging stronger partnerships among universities in Pakistan and Türkiye. Such collaboration can create opportunities for joint research, knowledge exchange, academic programmes and broader international engagement for students and faculty.
Prof Dr Erol Özvar appreciated the warm hospitality extended to the delegation by the people of Pakistan and expressed confidence that the visit would lead to meaningful and mutually beneficial outcomes.
He reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening academic mobility, research cooperation and institutional partnerships with Pakistan, highlighting the shared potential of the two countries’ higher education sectors.
Related: HEC and ACCA Seek Stronger Links From Classrooms to Careers
The three-day visit is expected to further strengthen the longstanding educational ties between Pakistan and Türkiye and provide a platform for universities and higher education institutions in both countries to pursue new areas of collaboration.
