ISLAMABAD, June 7. /Dunyo IA/. Ambassador of Uzbekistan Alisher Tukhtaev met with Wajiha Qamar, Federal Minister of State for Education and Professional Training of Pakistan, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

During the talks, the parties discussed prospects for the further development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Pakistan in the field of education, in particular, strengthening ties in the higher education system, exchanging experience in vocational training and expanding academic interaction between higher education institutions of the two countries.

Wajiha Qamar noted the reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan under the leadership of the country's President, aimed at modernizing the education sector, improving the higher education system in accordance with modern requirements, supporting science and innovation, and providing young people with modern knowledge and practical skills.

“During my visit to Uzbekistan last year to participate in the 43^rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, I personally witnessed the scale of the transformations taking place in your country, - said Wajiha Qamar. During meetings with the leadership of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of Uzbekistan, as well as the Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment, I once again became convinced of the enormous potential for cooperation between our countries in the field of education, which has not yet been fully realized”.

Particular attention at the meeting was paid to opportunities for attracting qualified specialists from Pakistan to meet the demands of Uzbekistan's labor market.

The Pakistani side put forward proposals for training and dispatching skilled personnel for the economy of Uzbekistan, especially for the textile industry, as well as for creating a mutually beneficial system for training specialists in the field of vocational education.

In addition, initiatives were proposed to establish academic cooperation between the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies and the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, as well as to implement joint training programs for foreign language specialists.

During the talks, the parties also exchanged views on a number of important projects currently under discussion.

In particular, the importance of accelerating work on establishing a branch of the Tashkent State Medical Academy in Pakistan or launching joint educational programs was emphasized, along with opening an Uzbekistan chair at the National University of Sciences and Technology of Pakistan, and intensifying the drafting process for a cooperation agreement in higher education between the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached to organize a visit to Uzbekistan by a delegation led by the Federal Minister of State for Education and Professional Training of Pakistan to continue negotiations on identifying promising and mutually beneficial areas of cooperation in the educational sphere, developing specific practical projects and their subsequent implementation.