Six Pakistani students are participating in the inaugural FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition taking place in Washington DC, according to a press release issued by US Embassy on Friday.

The team will collaborate with other teams from across the world "to accomplish engineering tasks focused on access to clean water", the statement read.

A mentor accompanying the team, Ali Syed, noted that the students had been actively preparing for the competition for weeks after winning a competition organised by Lets Innovate.

"Our team is honoured to represent Pakistan on this international stage and to show that Pakistani students have a passion and an aptitude for solving problems through robotics," Syed said.

American Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jonathan Pratt met with members of the team before they departed for the United States and encouraged them to "collaborate actively with their counterparts from the US and approximately 160 other nations".

"I hope you take advantage of the opportunity to share ideas about how to use robotics to solve some of the biggest problems that Pakistan, the United States, and other countries around the world face," Pratt said.