ISLAMABAD, APR 16 /DNA/ – Jointly organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Secretariat, and the ECO Educational Institute (ECO-EI), the first Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Internationalisation of Higher Education in the ECO Region has concluded with presentation of Action Plan (2025-30) here in Islamabad on Wednesday. The action plan has been made live for the deliberation of the member states for four weeks, which will then be formally adopted in the first ECO Ministerial Meeting.
The Action Plan (2025-30) addresses practical challenges in internationalization of higher education across the ECO region, including policy harmonisation, enhancing university to university engagements, mobility programmes for faculty and students, scholarship programmes, ECO joint degree programmes, ECO joint research collaboration on areas of mutual interest, capacity building of higher education professionals, ECO language and cultural exchange programmes, ECO quality assurance framework, promotion of online education, and ECO distance learning platform.
The Action Plan was also floated for critique and thorough brainstorming by the representatives of the member states so that it could be developed into a totally practical strategy that caters to the interest of each member state, as well as benefits from their strengths. The discussion resulted in fruitful suggestions and valuable feedback, which was welcomed and incorporated as necessary.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of HEC and the chair of the 1st Expert Group Meeting, Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that, “The ECO region is facing significant challenges and we have known for decades that the solution to most of the pressing problems the world faces today is education and collaboration. I would like to bring your attention to the fact that it is now or never. The Action Plan is a step in the right direction. We welcome and fully support the proposal as Pakistan believes in mutual cooperation and the power of education to transform the future.”
Earlier, ECO’s Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Asad M. Khan in his closing remarks had said that, “Though I am really happy to be here and today’s agenda is of critical importance, I cannot ignore the fact that this meeting should have had happened a long time ago. For an organisation that has been established since 1964 for economic development, it is unimaginable that it could achieve its goals without strong collaboration in higher education. Our universities need to be interconnected and internationally competitive and I can see potential in the action plan presented today to bring this vision to life.”
The President of ECO-EI, Prof. Mehmet Akif Kirecci thanked everybody for attending and contributing to the mutual cause of internationlisation of higher education. “We have tried our best to provide the experts from the member states with a platform to come together and join hands. It is now your job to make the best out of it, not only for your country but also for the whole region,” he said.
The meeting had commenced on Tuesday with representatives from Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, ECO Secretariat, ECO-EI, British Council, European Union, Eskisehir Anadolu University and coming together to develop a comprehensive Policy Action Plan (2025–2030).
, Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Secretariat){kind=link}