HEFEI, Jan 12th (Gwadar Pro) – A signing ceremony between Anhui Medical University (AHMU) and Islamabad Medical and Dental College (IMDC), along with the Unveiling Ceremony of "AHMU-IMDC China-Pakistan Cross-cultural Educational Exchange Center” was held in Anhui last week. It’s the first official cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani medical universities.

Pakistan and China have a long history of cooperation in the medical field, especially medical education. Many Pakistani students have been coming to China for studies in medical related majors. China has become the most popular selection for foreign students because of its rapid development in the medical sector and cutting-edge technology equipped hospitals.

Ahmed Waqas, Dean of the International department of IMDC, as a senior Pakistani doctor in China, said building such a cooperation has been his dream. "I always felt that there is still a lack of people-to-people contact between the two countries, especially in the field of medicine. We both countries have a lot to share and learn from each other. After the COVID-19 epidemic and international travelling restrictions, our students suffered a lot and we need to take our collaboration with medical universities in China to a closer level," he said.

This cooperation agreement between IMDC and AHMU includes academic, cultural and research cooperation, students exchange program at all levels, short and diploma degree course in specialized medical fields, collaboration of affiliated hospitals in clinical and basic medical sciences, off shore campus establishment and joint training programs, joint establishment of an education exchange center.

According to Cao YunXia, principal of AHMU, the university, with a history of 95 years, is one of the top medical universities in China. It has 15,000 teaching and medical staff and more than 20,000 students, including more than 5,000 master and doctoral students. Seven of its disciplines are ranked in the top 1% of ESI worldwide. AHMU has cooperated with about 40 universities in 16 countries, and has more than 400 international students. In addition, AHMU have established a "medical alliance" with 100 hospitals in Anhui province, with 13 affiliated hospitals, more than 20,000 beds and 10 million outpatient visits annually.

In addition, vice president of AHMU, Liang ChaoZhao, second secretary of Pakistani Embassy, Muhammad Junaid, and other high officials also attended the ceremony. Chairman and Managing Director of IMDC, Yasir Niazi and other faculty members of IMDC attended online.

This article originally appeared on Gwadar Pro.