Pakistan and the Maldives have moved to strengthen higher education and research cooperation with the signing of five Memoranda of Understanding between the Maldives National University (MNU) and leading Pakistani universities during Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s three-day state visit to Pakistan.
Facilitated by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, the agreements were signed between MNU and the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, University of Wah, Government College University Lahore and Foundation University Islamabad.
MNU Vice Chancellor Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam signed the agreements with heads and representatives of the Pakistani institutions at a ceremony held at the HEC Secretariat in Islamabad.
The partnerships are aimed at expanding joint research, faculty and student exchanges, academic conferences and seminars, as well as joint and dual degree programmes. The agreements are expected to create new opportunities for students and researchers from both countries while strengthening institutional links between Pakistani and Maldivian universities.
HEC Chairman Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar highlighted the potential of stronger university-to-university cooperation between the two countries, particularly through collaborative research and academic mobility. He reaffirmed HEC’s support for building sustainable international partnerships in higher education.
Dr Adam welcomed HEC’s efforts to develop international academic linkages and identified several areas with potential for expanded cooperation, including postgraduate research, medical education, agriculture and food sciences, law, tourism and hospitality, marine sciences, environmental sustainability and climate change.
The new university partnerships come as President Muizzu undertakes his state visit to Pakistan from October 20 to 22, his first high-level visit to the country in more than a decade. The visit also coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Maldives, established in 1966.
Education is among the areas identified by Pakistan and the Maldives for expanded bilateral cooperation during the visit, alongside trade, investment, health, tourism, agriculture, climate change, maritime security and people-to-people exchanges.
The academic agreements give the broader bilateral relationship a direct institutional dimension, with both countries seeking to translate diplomatic engagement into practical opportunities for students, faculty and researchers. The partnerships could also provide a platform for cooperation in fields of particular relevance to the Maldives, including marine sciences, climate resilience, environmental sustainability and tourism.
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The five MoUs mark another step towards expanding Pakistan-Maldives educational cooperation and strengthening people-to-people ties through higher education, research and knowledge exchange.
