ISLAMABAD: French ambassador to Pakistan Martine Dorance has said that France wants to be a gateway for Pakistan to Europe and will welcome more students for receiving higher education in the French universities.

"We will welcome more students from Pakistan in our country.

We want to be a gateway to Europe for Pakistan," said the ambassador in her brief remarks at a reception she hosted on the occasion of French Higher Education Week and to celebrate Francophonie Day here on late Thursday.

The ambassador said a 20-member delegation of French universities was already here who visited higher seats of learning in the Federal Capital as well as in Karachi and Lahore.

The basic objective of their visit was to foster relations with Pakistani universities and further strengthen cooperation between Paris and Islamabad in academic and scientific fields, she added.

Among the universities visiting Pakistan this week were famous French institutions, including Conference des Grandes Ecoles, Agreenium, Centrale Nantes, ENSA Nantes, INSA Lyon, Paris Sorbonne, Sorbonne Abu Dhabi.

Chairman Higher Education (HEC) Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed told APP that the delegation’s visit would help strengthen academic cooperation between the two countries.

It would provide both sides an opportunity to discuss various issues regarding higher education, he said.

Ahmed said that of the 705 Pakistani students sent to France on scholarships for higher education, 400 have already completed PhDs from many French universities.

The two countries were also cooperating in the field of culture, and Pakistan would hold an exhibition in France in August next year where it would display pieces of archeology, said Ahmed.

The reception besides others was attended by diplomats from different countries and representatives of the French universities visiting Pakistan to explore new avenues of cooperation in the field of higher education between the two countries.