The new country director of DAAD, the German government organization for academic exchange, Inge Iqbal, hosted the annual dinner on the lawns of the `German House` in Islamabad, where she introduced the new head of the embassy`s culture and press section, Christine Rosenberger, and officials from DAAD headquarters in Berlin.

The event was attended by members of the alumni of the over 700 Pakistanis who were DAAD fellowship recipients.

Some of this year`s about 45 new recipients of funding for their projects also attended, and there were guests from German universities and the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the main collaborative partner in Pakistan.

`Most participants in the various DAAD exchange programmes go to Germany, but German scholars also come to Pakistan, including university teachers in German language in Pakistan,` explained the DAAD representative.

In their speeches, the DAAD and embassy representatives underlined the good cooperation that exists in higher education and research between the two countries, and since they both are new in their posts they also drew attention to how well they had been received in Pakistan.

Inge Iqbal said that Pakistan was not new to her, as she had both professional and family ties to the country. She said she looked forward to the coming two years of appointment, adding that she hoped it would be extended so she could stay longer.

Dr Shahzad Irfan from the physiology department of the GC University of Faisalabad said that he was grateful for the opportunity he had to spend over three years studying veterinary science and physiology in Germany.