Ethiopia and Pakistan Establish Joint Rectors’ Forum to Advance Academic Cooperation

Under the facilitation of OIC’s Standing Committee on Science and technology (OIC- COMSTECH), the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have formed a Joint Rectors’ Forum comprising ten premier institutions, five from each nation, to boost academic, scientific, and technological collaboration.
The initiative was officially announced during the OIC-COMSTECH-Ethiopia-Pakistan Joint Forum which was held here in Islamabad through a video conference.
During the fruitful session, H.E. Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, the Coordinator General of OIC-COMSTECH highlighted key areas of strategic cooperation, which was further catalyzed by a powerful opening address from H.E. Dr. Oumer Hussien Oba, the Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan.
The Ambassador underscored Ethiopia’s massive transformation into a knowledge-based economy driven by a 70:30 STEM education national policy, as well as an expanding healthcare research ecosystem.
The newly formed forum strategically links Pakistan’s renowned university consortium with Ethiopia’s growing public health and technology sectors.
Participating Ethiopian institutions include the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAIT), Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU), University of Gondar, and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital under Addis Ababa University. They are joined by premier Pakistani counterparts including the University of Lahore (UoL), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), and the Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB).
Moving forward, the alliance will focus on collaborative research and development in advanced technologies and medical sciences. The initiative is designed to facilitate academic mobility through student exchange programs and the movement of faculty members, alongside creating comprehensive institutional twinning mechanisms between matched universities. To translate this diplomatic agreement into an actionable operational matrix, both sides have agreed to form a joint technical team tasked with guiding future operations.
Marking an immediate and tangible outcome of the joint forum, COMSATS University announced the provision of 25 scholarships for Ethiopian students. This commitment paves the way for human resource development and laid a strong foundation for fostering an intellectual partnership between the two nations.
OIC-COMSTECH has also expressed its willingness to host representatives of leading Ethiopian universities in Islamabad, with a view to further strengthening academic, research, and institutional collaboration between the two sides.