Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Meets with Pakistani Ambassador Moin ul Haque

June 15, 2021

On the morning of June 15, 2021, President Zhou Yushu of Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences paid a visit to the Embassy of Pakistan in China at the invitation of Ambassador Moin ul Haque. The two sides held warm and productive talks, joined by Shi Lizhen, Director of the College’s Foreign Affairs Office; Tang Jun, Director of the Pakistan Research Center; and Zhou Chuan, faculty member from the College. The Embassy was represented by Education Counsellor Shulman, Press Attaché Raza, Secretary Ali, and other officials.

Ambassador Haque warmly welcomed the delegation and underscored the deep-rooted friendship between Pakistan and China. “Our two countries are connected by mountains and rivers and share a bond of mutual dependence. China is a true friend of Pakistan,” he remarked. He noted that over the 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the bilateral relationship has withstood numerous tests. The Ambassador praised Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences for its sustained educational exchanges with Pakistan, including sending teachers and students to various Pakistani institutions and hosting multiple cohorts of Pakistani students, thereby making significant contributions to educational and cultural cooperation. Emphasizing that 2021 marks the 70th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties, Ambassador Haque expressed the Embassy’s hope that the College would seize this milestone to further deepen its relationship with Pakistan through participation in celebratory activities. He assured that the Embassy would, as always, support and facilitate exchanges and cooperation between the College and Pakistani government bodies and higher education institutions.

President Zhou Yushu expressed his gratitude for the long-standing support extended by the Pakistani government and its Embassy in China, and congratulated Ambassador Haque on his appointment. After giving a brief overview of the College and its educational exchanges with Pakistan, as well as the study progress of Pakistani students at the College, President Zhou highlighted that under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the College has served as one of the Chinese partner institutions for the Pakistani local government’s Chinese language talent training program, having cultivated over 60 Chinese language professionals. He also mentioned that the College established the “Masood Scholarship” to support the education of Pakistani students. “We will continue our efforts to make due contributions to deepening China-Pakistan educational exchanges,” President Zhou stated, adding that the College would earnestly implement national policies on fostering China-Pakistan friendship, leverage the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen ties with Pakistani governments and universities, and further broaden collaboration in culture, education, and scientific research.

During the meeting, Director Tang Jun of the Pakistan Research Center introduced the Center’s ongoing research on ancient Indus seals and studies related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. Ambassador Haque responded positively and pledged support and assistance for these research initiatives.

As a gesture of friendship, President Zhou presented the Embassy with a collection of books published by the College and a series of paintings depicting Mongolian ethnic culture. He extended an invitation to Ambassador Haque to visit Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences at a convenient time. The Ambassador gladly accepted, saying he very much looked forward to visiting Inner Mongolia.

A Legacy of Cooperation between Honder College and Pakistan

The meeting built upon more than a decade of steadily deepening ties between the College and Pakistan. In 2010, the then Pakistani Ambassador to China, Masood Khan, made his first visit to the College, inaugurating an era of collaboration. Over the past 11 years, successive ambassadors have visited the campus on five occasions. In 2011, with the arrangement of the Embassy, a group of 25 teachers and students from the College traveled to Pakistan and established cooperative relations with several universities. In 2015, the College welcomed the first cohort of eight students under the Embassy’s scholarship program, and from 2017 onwards, it has hosted four batches totaling 61 Pakistani students on government scholarships. Between 2011 and 2018, the College dispatched over 40 teachers and students to institutions such as Aitchison College and the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Pakistan for Chinese language teaching and further studies. To consolidate these exchanges, the College established “Masood Hall” – named after Ambassador Masood Khan and housing a rich collection of historical materials and artifacts – and founded the Pakistan Research Center. With the steadfast support of each ambassador, the cooperative ties between Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences and Pakistan have continued to grow in both depth and breadth.

The cordial talks on June 15 further cemented this enduring friendship and charted a clear path for future cooperation in education, research, and cultural exchange, injecting fresh vitality into the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.