Education has been the strong basis

 

Munawar Bhatti ( right) with Phil Goff and Dr Ashraf Choudhary  & chairman of business commenty  Choudhary Nadeem  Ashraf, Phil Goff , Javeed Iqbal  President of Pakistan Muslim league New Zealand  

Education has been the strong basis for promoting bilateral relations between Pakistan and New Zealand in addition to a number of other avenues available, former Pakistan high commissioner Munawar Bhatti said.
“The number of students from Pakistan pursuing research and postgraduate courses in New Zealand’s universities has been growing and we are confident that the coming years will see more of them,” he said, speaking at a farewell dinner organised in his (and his wife Fazeelat Saeed’s) honour by the Auckland Pakistani community at the Grand Chancellor Hotel on July 5.
Mr Bhatti, who has just returned to Islamabad after completing his tour of duty in Wellington to take up the post of director general in his home country (Indian Newslink, July 1, 2009), said his tenure was pleasant but replete with challenges.
He said that as the first high commissioner in a newly opened diplomatic mission, he had to start from the beginning and establish contacts and relationships not only with the host government but also with fellow diplomats and the wider Pakistani community.
He had told this newspaper earlier that his government was funding the postgraduate and research studies of Pakistani nationals from Pakistan and that there were about 130 students currently enrolled in the University of Auckland, Massey University in Palmerston North and other universities.
“There are other students from Pakistan pursuing a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses on their own, since they know the high standard of learning and teaching in New Zealand.
Auckland University pro vice-chancellor Dr Christopher Tremewan said Pakistani students agreed, saying, students from Pakistan were “performing extremely well.”
Mr Bhatti said Immigration New Zealand was supportive of his country’s efforts to encourage Pakistani students to study in New Zealand.He said New Zealand would remain a highlight of his diplomatic career not only because it was his first assignment as the head of his country’s diplomatic mission but also because three of his four children graduated from the Wellington-based Victoria University during his stay.
“While the potential for bilateral engagement is huge, there is a need for establishing a Pakistan New Zealand Business Council,” he said.
Labour (and opposition) leader Phil Goff agreed that there was potential for fostering bilateral relations between the two countries and that he had a close working relationship with Pakistan during his tenure as New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister and trade minister under the Labour government.