France offers more opportunities in higher education: envoy

The French government has launched its first-ever campaign to attract international students to get admissions in different universities in France. French Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Marc Barety inaugurated the Office of Campus France in Pakistan at Alliance Francaise here Monday. The French Ambassador also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the co-management of the local website France Alumni Pakistan between Embassy of France in Pakistan and Pak France Alumni Network.

Speaking on the occasion, the French Ambassador said that the Bureau of Campus France in Karachi will serve as a "one-stop-shop" to all the questions and needs of Pakistani youth and students for their mobility in France. He said France and Pakistan enjoy very close relations. He said Pakistan is an important country having over 65 percent youth population.

He said France is offering more opportunities to Pakistani students in higher education in various disciplines including culture, language, climate change and others. Pakistan is among top affectee countries in climate change and over 100 Pakistani students are doing PhD in this subject. Thibaut Dutruel, a representative of French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs and Florent Bonavevture, Director of Communication Campus France also spoke on this occasion and briefed about the aims and objective of establishment of Campus France in Pakistan.

They said that the French government has launched this international campaign to attract more foreign students in France. "We are expecting to double the numbers of international students to 500,000 in the next eight years till 2027." They said the Campus France is a public office and any student can contact to get information about admission in French universities and for visa process.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019