US Consul General In Karachi Addresses At SMIU

KARACHI, Nov 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Nov, 2016 ) : Grace W. Shelton, U.S. Consul General in Karachi, has said that, Sindh Madressatul islam University (SMIU) has shaped the beliefs of its students on the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and it has continued to shape the minds of Pakistani leaders of tomorrow.

Addressing the students, faculty and staff members of SMIU on Monday, U.S. Consul General said that the students of SMIU were fortunate by attending the SMIU, and walking on the footsteps of Father of Pakistan.

`I am really thankful to Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh for inviting me at Sindh Madressatul Islam University, to see the institution where founder of Pakistan studied and to meet with its students, teachers and deans,' she said.

Ms. Grace W. Shelton further said that she was impressed with the notion used by Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh (Vice Chancellor of SMIU) in his speech about SMIU, saying that it is a nursery of leaders.

She said that the students of SMIU will emerge from SMIU and work for bright future of Pakistan. Talking about the role of United States in improvement of education in Pakistan, she said that she is proud of the role which United States is playing as the partner of the government and people of Pakistan in wide ranging areas including health, economic development, power, infrastructure, defense cooperation and community engagement.

`But today our focus is on cooperation in education and building opportunities for Pakistani youth,' she said. Ms. Grace W. Shelton further said that we know that the youth of Pakistan posses a tremendous potential, we know that youth of Pakistan love to learn, they have deep respect for their families, communities and the country.

That is why the USA gives tools to them to lead the next generation to build peaceful, prosperous and democratic Pakistan. She said that since 2009, the USA has reopened and built 1,000 schools in Pakistan.

It is also building 106 schools in Sindh province for young students. She further said we are working with the Pakistani partners across the country to provide reading assistance to hundreds of thousands students of grade one and two.

She said the USA is also focusing on the education of girls. U.S. Consul General said the USA is also deeply involved in higher education of Pakistan. It is providing scholarships to students through Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Also we are providing Wi-Fi to 100 higher educational institutes across Pakistan. She said that Pakistan is the largest Fulbright scholarships recipient in the world. `We are very proud to have partnerships with institutions in Pakistan that will build capacity in the Pakistan's education system, to generate world class students,' In his welcome address, Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh, Vice Chancellor of Sindh Madressatul Islam University talked on the need of cooperation between Sindh Madressatul Islam University and the universities of USA.

Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh was of the view that today we are living in the era of nationally and internationally collaborations and cooperation hence should focus on the areas that can help our students to become successful future leaders.

Talking about SMIU he said that it is considered the nursery of leaders. Throughout its 131 years of history it has produced a large number of leaders including founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He said that even today it's a large number of alumni are leading various fields in the country. Dr Shaikh said that Sindh was the land of eight thousand years oldest civilization, where people were civilized, educated, tolerant and enlightened.

On the occasion Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh presented Sindh's cultural souvenirs to Ms. Grace W. Shelton and Mr. John Director Public Diplomacy Department of US Consulate Karachi. Reciprocally, she presented some souvenir to Dr Shaikh also.

The US. CG also visited Jinnah Museum of SMIU, where she took deep interest in educational record of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other old alumni of SMIU.