Ethiopian envoy discussed scholarships, AI and digital knowledge sharing at COMSATS

Islamabad
Dr. Oumer Hussien Oba, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Pakistan, visited COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) on Tuesday to explore avenues for strengthening academic, research and institutional cooperation between CUI and Ethiopian universities.
The Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. Melaw Getachew, Minister Counsellor; Mr. Chalachew Eshitei, Public Diplomacy Officer and Mr. Naveed Ahmed, Business Promotion Officer. The meeting was also attended by CUI’s senior management led by varsity Rector Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar and also including Dr. Fahim A. Qureshi, Registrar, Muhammad Azam, Treasurer, Prof. Dr. Sajjad A. Madani, Controller of Examinations, Prof. Dr. Majid Iqbal, Incharge Islamabad Campus and Ms. Muniba Nasir, Head CUI International Office.
During the meeting, both sides discussed developing a structured framework for cooperation encompassing student scholarships, faculty engagement, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, digital transformation, knowledge sharing and sustainability.
As an important initiative to strengthen educational linkages, Prof. Raheel Qamar, Rector CUI expressed willingness to offer 20 tuition-free scholarships to Ethiopian students, with modalities to be formalized under a proposed institutional arrangement. The two sides further explored faculty cooperation, including exchange of adjunct professors and linkages with Addis Ababa University and other Ethiopian higher education institutions.
The Rector also proposed facilitating interaction between CUI and a delegation of Ethiopian Vice Chancellors to promote digital knowledge sharing and enable Ethiopian universities to benefit from CUI’s experience in technology-enabled governance.
Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar briefed the delegation on CUI’s growing focus on Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, highlighting opportunities for cooperation involving AI research, NCAI-related activities. He said that universities must begin preparing for the next technological frontier, with increasing convergence among AI, engineering, cybernetics, quantum computing and quantum-resilient technologies.
Digital transformation of higher education emerged as another important area of cooperation. H.E. Dr. Oumer Hussien Oba appreciated CUI’s progress in digitizing university governance and service delivery and emphasized the value of sharing institutional experiences among universities of the two countries. The Ambassador emphasized Ethiopia’s interest in the “sharing of minds” and in building university-to-university dialogue to benefit students, researchers and institutions in both countries.
The Ambassador highlighted Ethiopia’s strong emphasis on renewable energy, environmental protection and large-scale tree plantation, while appreciating CUI’s green-campus initiatives and efforts to link digitization with environmental sustainability. Following the meeting, H.E. Dr. Oumer Hussien Oba planted an Araucaria tree at the CUI Islamabad Campus, symbolizing the shared commitment of Ethiopia and COMSATS University Islamabad to environmental sustainability and a growing partnership rooted in education, science and knowledge exchange.