ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: The British Council is trying to bring people in the UK and Pakistan together so that they know and understand each other better not only through initiatives in the field of education but also through cultural and social interactions.

This was stated by Director British Council Dr Tom Craig- Cameron at a equipment handing over ceremony in which multimedia gear and printers were provided to the HEC under the Department For International Development (DFID) Higher Education Links Programme here on Tuesday.

The DFID programme is aimed at promoting collaboration between higher educational institutions in the UK and the developing nations. The programme allowed faculty and staff in Pakistan to visit the UK and meet their counterparts there to exchange ideas, concepts and experiences that could help them in developmental programmes in their respective institutions.

"Collaboration in academics will also help people of both the nations to develop stronger ties for joint ventures in future," Dr Cameron added. Dr Cameron said under the three-year programme, each link received 8,000 pounds every year.

Shezreen Shah, the British Council Project Manager, said the objective of the programme was to help the higher educational institutions in the UK and Pakistan to work together, share knowledge and skills to address targets of reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development in line with United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

She said a parallel link programme with similar dynamics had also been initiated by the HEC in partnership with the British Council, Islamabad. The purpose of the programme was to enhance research and training capacity of higher education institutions, which would contribute towards the institutional capacity building of the higher education sector in Pakistan, she added.

"The higher education link has been established between the Imperial College London and the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on the theme of rural development. The HEC Higher Education Link is established between the University of Dundee and the AIOU."

Chairman Agriculture Department of the AIOU Dr Nowshad Khan, who was one of the higher education links, received the equipment. Dr Nomana Anjum of the AIOU, who was the other link, said the programme aimed to disseminate sustainable concepts through training and research.