The AusAID Scholarships Alumni-Pakistan (ASA-Pakistan) Association was launched here on Saturday by Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Tim George at a simple ceremony. The event was attended by alumni from all over Pakistan who have completed their studies at Australian Universities in recent years. The ASA-Pakistan aims to reconnect Pakistani alumni who have studied in Australia since 1991 under various AusAID scholarship programmes.
Through the Association, AusAID alumni from the public and private sectors as well as civil society will be able to build networks and create professional opportunities that will contribute to Pakistan's development priorities. Addressing the ceremony Tim Georoge said, "The Australian Government regards ASA-Pakistan as a very important new network that will make a valuable contribution to Australia-Pakistan relations." "Many past AusAID scholarship recipients have become leaders in government, the private sector and non-government organisations in Pakistan," he said.
The Australian High Commissioner said, "The skills acquired by these Pakistanis during their studies not only contribute to Pakistan's development but also help to build mutually beneficial links between the governments, non-government organisations, businesses and academia." AusAID has provided more than 400 scholarships to Pakistani students since 1991.
In 2009 the scholarships programme was redesigned in consultation with the Government of Pakistan to better address Pakistan's key development priorities including maternal, neonatal and child health, primary education, rural development, food security and agriculture. The ASA-Pakistan is supported by AusAID and managed by the Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) Office in Islamabad. Applications for the 2012 Masters scholarship for study at Australian Universities under the Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) programme are open until 8 April 2011.-PR
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