Pakistan to launch second phase of initiative offering scholarships to Bangladeshi students
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Bangladeshi Students pose for a group photo after arriving at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 20, 2026. (HEC/File)
- ‘Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor’ aims to increase collaboration in education, research
- Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved ties from a bitter past after ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s ouster
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will launch the second phase of an education initiative with Bangladesh that offers 500 scholarships for Bangladeshi students for higher studies “soon,” the Pakistan High Commission said on Wednesday.
Islamabad announced the ‘Pakistan-Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor’ initiative last year, according to which Islamabad said it has allocated 500 scholarships for Bangladeshi students in Pakistani universities.
The first batch of Bangladeshi students who were awarded the scholarships arrived in Pakistan in February.
“The second phase of the Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor is launching soon, under which Pakistan is offering 500 scholarships to Bangladeshi students for higher studies at leading universities in Pakistan,” the Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh said in a statement.
The initiative seeks to boost collaboration in education, research, and innovation between the two countries, as they slowly move forward from a bitter past to improved political relations.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have moved closer since 2024, following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Both were part of the same country until Bangladesh seceded following a bloody civil war in 1971, an event that long cast a shadow over bilateral ties.
The two countries have attempted to translate their improved relations into greater economic collaboration. In February, national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed in the Pakistani port city of Karachi for the first regular flight between the two nations since 2012.
The two nations also began sea trade in late 2024, which was followed by efforts to expand government-to-government commerce.
In August last year, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar went on an official trip to Bangladesh. There, he discussed economic, trade, and investment relations with Bangladesh’s leadership.
Reference link:- https://www.arabnews.com/node/2640867/pakistan
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
