he New Zealand Consul General in Pakistan, Moin M.

Fudda, came from Karachi to hold meetings and seminars in Islamabad, and host a large dinner for academics. Some of the dinner guests had come from New Zealand and the Arab countries, including UAE, where the country has a hub for diplomatic links, trade and university cooperation. The Pakistani guests came from universities all over the country.

`The event was mainly social, and it turned out very well,` said Consul General Fudda, a former stock exchange director.

`Education has become a business, and with several hundred Pakistani students in New Zealand, it is a good business and a gain for both countries.

New Zealand has over 100,000 international students from all over the world, with China, South Korea and India counting for about 50 per cent.

This is quite a lot in a country with just over 4.5 million people.

About 20 per cent of the international students stay on after their studies in New Zealand.

`At the peak months, we process almost 10,000 applications, and annually a total of about 50,000. New Zealand is small, but in international education we are big, with an annual revenue generation of some NZ$ 2 billion (about USD 1.4 billion) to the education providers and country,` explained Moira Hagenson of the WelTec Institute in the capital Wellington and Christina Fordyoce, the Vice Consul in Dubai.

Consul General Fudda added that the Pakistan-New Zealand overall trade volume stands at over $110 million. When the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Pakistan earlier this year, a number of areas for expansion were discussed.

Australia is very strong in dairy products, animal health, and renewable energy, and in technical and professional education in those fields. There are university linkages in several fields, where Pakistani and New Zealand universities carry out joint research. And then, when the evening got late, the 50 guests folded their napkins and closed their academic books and administrative files.

Some took another cup of tea and some extra sweets, which wasn`t really required, but it crowned the evening. And the Karachi-based Consul General said he will soon be back in Islamabad, mentioning that New Zealand doesn`t have an Embassy in Pakistan, so the work is done by his consulate in Karachi and the one in Dubai.

-Text and photo by Atle Hetland & Shahbaz Chaudary