ISLAMABAD – In recognition of his meritorious transnational services and rare leadership attributes, Chairman Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic was conferred honorary doctorate of philosophy degree by National University of Sciences and Technology here on Wednesday.
Chancellor NUST, Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf accompanied the foreign dignitary at the occasion. Held at the main campus of NUST, the Special Convocation Ceremony was attended by a large number of government functionaries, luminaries, senior management of NUST, scholars and the university students. 
President Bakir Izetbegovic’s illustrious career reflects sustained and superlative achievements. By virtue of his leadership qualities, President Bakir Izetbegovic stands tall among world leaders.
It is the fruit of his relentless contribution, both as the Chairman and as a Member of Presidency, that Bosnia now is recognised as a leader towards restoring world peace.
Under his sagacious leadership, Bosnia is embarked on a fast-paced economic development and is attracting vast scale investment from foreign economies.
Currently, President Bakir is on an official visit to Pakistan which aims at multifariously improving bilateral relationship between the two countries.  
While delivering his honorary degree acceptance speech, President Bakir Izetbegovic expressed heartiest gratitude to Chancellor NUST, Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf, Rector NUST, Engr Muhammad Asghar and all others for having bestowed upon him a great honour. He said that Pakistan-Bosnia bond was unique in many ways and there was a history of close government-to-government as well as people-to-people cooperation behind its firm foundation and growth. Recalling the magnanimous support extended by the Pakistan government to Bosnians in times of unrest and instability, the President reiterated that together both the countries would continue strengthening the cordial relationship at all tiers of cooperation.          
At the occasion, Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf extended felicitations to the Bosnian President and his people. He said that the gesture of awarding Honourary Degree to President Bakir Izetbegovic will tone up the strong link between Pakistan and Bosnia. The Premier added that the level of goodwill between the peoples was very high and jointly would they keep pursuing the common objective of regional and global peace at international fora. He said that Pakistan would always remain steadfast in its support to the government and people of Bosnia. The Prime Minister said that the existing cooperation level needed to multiply, which could only be achieved through extended collaborations in numerous fields ranging from trade to education.
Earlier in his welcome address, Rector NUST Engr Muhammad Asghar expressed his humble gratitude to His Excellency President BiH for consenting to accept honorary degree from National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan.
He said that they were thrilled that His Excellency would be joining the NUST family by receiving the honorary PhD Degree. The Rector maintained that both the countries needed to expeditiously expand cooperation at the educational front and the leading universities should take a leap forward in achieving the cherished goals.