ISLAMABAD - The US Ambassador Richard Olson underscored the United States’ strong commitment to advancing education in Pakistan in his closing remarks at the 14th Annual American Studies Conference organised by Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).
“Unlocking Pakistan’s potential by improving education is one of our top assistance priorities,” said Ambassador Olson in closing the Conference. “Many of our programmes focus on young learners - we are helping 3.2 million children learn to read and building training facilities for teachers at 16 Pakistani universities, but we are also deeply involved in increasing access to higher education.  We are proud to operate the world’s largest Fulbright exchange program in Pakistan, providing a world-class US education to some of your best and brightest.  But we are also proud that we are providing university scholarships for more than 12,000 students to study near home right here in Pakistan.”
The annual American Studies Conference, supported by the US Embassy in Pakistan, brings together professors and students to foster greater understanding of the US in Pakistan using an interdisciplinary approach.  While at the conference, Ambassador Olson also announced the launching of a university partnership between Ball State University and Quaid-i-Azam University.  This partnership will foster academic exchange, joint research, and curriculum development in American Studies. 
This is the second of eight planned partnerships between Pakistani and US universities that the United States will fund. The first university partnership was signed on August 29, 2012, between Fatima Jinnah Women’s University and the University of Texas at Austin.