• Education
• Wed 01 2026

Pakistan & Myanmar Prioritize Education

Islamabad -  Marking a new beginning in their bilateral relations, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday hosted the visiting Foreign Affairs Minister of Myanmar, Than Swe, for dinner and talks at his Jati Umra estate residence. During the meeting, both sides agreed on the need to further enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Myanmar in various fields, including education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, a marked departure from their earlier declarations that spoke of trade links and security issues.
Renewed Vision for Education Cooperation
During the high-level talks, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif emphasized Pakistan’s desire to further deepen historical relations with Myanmar through mutually beneficial cooperation in education and culture. He underlined that academic collaborations and student exchanges are important elements in an effort to inculcate mutual understanding and trust among the people of the two countries.
The officials also decided to encourage capacity building in academic institutions through joint research and increase student and scholar exchange programs. There were also demands for more youth engagement programming to foster cultural understanding and collaboration among future generations of leaders.
People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges
Cultural cooperation was a major element of the dialogue beyond formal education. Pakistan expressed appreciation for the support of Myanmar and expressed interest in studying more about Myanmar’s art forms, from classical arts and traditional festivals, situated alongside historical linkages across South and Southeast Asia. His Myanmar counterpart echoed these words, saying his country would like to expand cultural exchanges and joint activities, enabling artists, students, and children of the two countries to interact and learn from each other’s way of life and history.
Scholarships and Student Mobility
Islamabad's academic cooperation and student engagement indicate Pakistan’s plan to establish a formal scholarship program or student exchange program between the two countries soon, as it offers scholarships with other countries remotely, with Bangladesh, Malaysia, and others adopting the idea of an open-door policy.
Pakistan–Myanmar relations have in the past remained the subject of little contact, in part because of their geopolitical disagreements, including over the Rohingya crisis, despite diplomatic links. Emphasizing education and cultural relations, the two countries are pursuing a more pragmatic, forward-looking diplomacy that respects people-centered, economic, and strategic relationships. Educational links build real connections between young people, from studying together to shared cultural festivals and academic conferences. In so doing, they establish goodwill that endures and is the grounds for continued respect between nations, making more solid bridges in the decades to follow.
Verified reports available to the media or from government press handouts have not published detailed enrollment figures or scholarship numbers for Myanmar nationals in Pakistani universities. It is evident from broader global education figures that many Myanmar students study abroad because of problems in the higher-education infrastructure of their home country. For instance, a more general international data report suggests that in 2022, over 17,000 Myanmar students were studying across different countries, indicating a strong indication of international educational migration from Myanmar. Pakistan’s specific share was not confirmed, though.
Sustainable bridge:
Why can’t educational and cultural ties between Pakistan and Burma be a consistent source of promoting mutual understanding between people, rather than political fluctuations? That is the question being asked by the Islamabad Center for Peace and Education. The Center has concluded that formal scholarship programs, university-to-university partnerships, and youth-oriented cultural initiatives could make an essential difference in restoring trust, advancing regional connectivity, and rooting people-to-people ties for the long term between Afghanistan and Pakistan.