Pakistan pledges to build a medical college in Maldives

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has pledged to establish a medical college in Maldives.

Establishing a medical college had been discussed as far back as 2010, when the government at the time pondered establishing a university and medical college in L. Gan.

A delegation from Sri Lanka visited Maldives in 2013 to conduct a feasibility study on a medical college in Maldives. Relevant authorities met with officials from Maldives National University two years later to hold discussions based on the results of the feasibility study.

PM Nawaz Sharif is currently in Maldives on an official visit upon invitation of Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to celebrate the 52nd Independence Day of Maldives.

Speaking to press last Tuesday night, PM Nawaz Sharif expressed the commitment of the government of Pakistan to establish a medical college in Maldives.

He also announced that the Pakistani government has made the decision to increase the number of scholarship opportunities awarded to Maldivian students in the fields of medicine, engineering, pharmacy and dentistry.

Minister of Health of Maldives, Abdulla Nazim had announced in May that officials from Pakistan had conducted a feasibility study on establishing a medical college in Maldives, and that the results of the study had been favorable.

The government of Maldives and government of Pakistan signed several Memorandums of Understanding last Tuesday, through which it was agreed Pakistan would send its medical doctors to work in Maldives, and that Maldivian medical students in Pakistan would be given special rates.