AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
ISLAMABAD
 

10 October 2012

Press Release

Australian High Commissioner bids farewell to Pakistani Agriculture Scholarship recipients

The Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Mr Peter Heyward, today bid farewell to 25 Pakistani professionals who have been awarded scholarships to undertake agricultural studies at the University of Queensland in Australia through the new Australia Pakistan Agriculture Scholarships (APAS) Short Course Awards Program. Recipients of these scholarships are between 27 and 50 years of age and belong to Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Baluchistan.

“The APAS Program provides masters and short-term study opportunities for professionals and academics who are working in the agriculture sector to extend their knowledge of pro-poor market development in rural areas”, said Mr Heyward during his address to students at their pre-departure briefing.

A representative of the selected awardees said that the APAS Program would not only give them the opportunity to benefit from Australia’s expertise in agriculture, but would also enhance their understanding of Australia.

The APAS scheme is part of the Australian Government’s ‘Australia Awards’ program, which aims to develop capacity and leadership skills so that individuals can contribute to development in their home country, and to build people to people linkages at the individual, institutional and country levels.

Australia has been providing scholarships to Pakistani students since 1991, and the scholarships program highlights the strong development partnership between Australia and Pakistan. Australia’s development assistance program to Pakistan, managed by AusAID, has grown steadily in recent years, reaching A$96.4 million in 2012/13 with a focus on health, education and agriculture.

The next round of APAS awards will be advertised in April 2013 on the Australia Awards website in Pakistan website.
 

Contact: Melissa Kelly 051 8355346