Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed has said that with cooperation in higher education, SAARC must find its own ways to combine forces to achieve its goals for regional prosperity.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fifth meeting of Committee of Heads of University Grant Commission at Bandos Island Resort this morning, Vice President also noted that South Asia region plays an important role in today’s global environment. He further said that, not only do the South Asian region comprise about a quarter of world’s population and represent one of fastest growing regions in the world, the South Asian contribution to the world of intellectual thought is second to none.
Dr Waheed said that the challenges posed by terrorism, climate change, poverty, alarming rates of illiteracy, maternal mortality and malnutrition restrain the development of the South Asian region. However, the Vice President said that he was confident, that these challenges would invoke a greater desire for SAARC cooperation and synergy, and overcome these challenges collectively.
The Vice President also said that higher education was more amenable to regionalisation as much of the content of higher education could be neutral of local culture.
“Higher education holds a greater promise for achieving the SAARC goal of contributing to mutual trust, understanding and appreciating each others problems”, said Dr Waheed.
