President Zhou Yushu and Delegation from Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences Pay Courtesy Call on Newly Appointed Pakistani Ambassador H.E. Khalil-ur-Rahman Hashmi

On 28 November 2023, at the invitation of the Embassy of Pakistan in China, a four-member delegation from Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences, comprising President Zhou Yushu, Director of the Foreign Languages Department Shi Lizhen, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office Zhou Chuan, and Foreign Affairs Office faculty member Deng Sen, visited the Embassy to pay a courtesy call on the newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to China, H.E. Khalil-ur-Rahman Hashmi. The delegation was received in separate and cordial meetings by both the new Ambassador and former Ambassador H.E. Masood Khalid.

The visit marks a further chapter in the long-standing and warm relationship between Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences and the Embassy of Pakistan. Since 2010, the College has been actively engaged in educational and cultural exchanges with Pakistan, having dispatched dozens of teachers to teach Chinese language in Pakistan and hosted several cohorts of Pakistani students under the Punjab and Balochistan government scholarship programs. The College is also home to the Pakistan Research Center, which over the years has grown into a recognized hub for Pakistan studies in northern China.

During the meeting, President Zhou Yushu extended warm congratulations to Ambassador Hashmi on his assumption of office and conveyed the College's profound gratitude for the continued support and guidance provided by the Embassy. He noted that former Ambassador Masood Khalid has been an old and dear friend of the College, having played an instrumental role in the establishment of the "Masood Hall" — a permanent exhibition on the College campus that documents and celebrates the deep-rooted China-Pakistan friendship — as well as in the creation of the Masood Scholarship, which continues to sponsor Pakistani students pursuing higher education at Honder. President Zhou presented an overview of the College's recent accomplishments in areas such as the teaching of Urdu as an elective course, research projects focused on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and ancient Gandhara civilization, and the organization of the annual "Pakistan Culture Day," which has become a much-anticipated event on the academic calendar.

Ambassador Hashmi expressed his deep appreciation for Honder College's dedicated and sustained efforts to promote Pakistan-China educational and cultural cooperation. He affirmed that the College stands as a shining example of people-to-people connectivity between the two "iron brothers" and assured the delegation of the Embassy's full support in facilitating deeper collaboration. Both sides engaged in detailed discussions on expanding academic partnerships between the College and Pakistani universities, promoting faculty and student exchange programs, exploring joint research initiatives, and further strengthening the capacity of the Pakistan Research Center as a platform for scholarly dialogue. The Ambassador also graciously accepted an invitation to visit the College's Hohhot campus at his earliest convenience, an occasion eagerly anticipated by the entire Honder community.

Former Ambassador Masood Khalid, whose personal involvement with the College dates back many years, shared his fond memories of visits to the campus and reiterated his enduring commitment to the friendship cultivated with faculty and students alike. He noted that institutions like Honder College play an indispensable role in nurturing mutual understanding and shaping a positive, forward-looking narrative of the bilateral relationship.

The meetings took place in an atmosphere of genuine warmth and mutual respect, reflective of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan. The College delegation's visit to the Embassy in Beijing underscores Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences' unwavering dedication to serving as a vibrant bridge of friendship, education, and scholarship, and contributes meaningfully to the enduring and ever-growing fraternal ties between the two nations.