Islamabad, June 3, 2015 – U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy Richard Stengel and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olson, along with Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, officially launched the U.S.-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies (CAS) - a $127 million investment from the United States to build partnerships in higher education and research. This initiative is a set of partnerships between world-class U.S. and Pakistani universities that will harness applied research to find innovative and practical solutions for Pakistan’s energy, water, agriculture, and food security challenges.  Both the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar will partner with Arizona State University to create two centers for energy research; the University of Jamshoro and University of Utah will partner to create the center for water; and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and the University of California at Davis will partner to create the center for agriculture and food security.

Through the U.S.-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies, U.S. and Pakistan universities will also partner to build capacity and long-term cooperation, including with the private sector to drive innovation and growth. To this end, the United States will provide graduate-level scholarships through exchange programs and support construction of world-class libraries, laboratories, and additional research facilities.

Since 2009, the United States Government has built or rehabilitated about 1,000 Pakistani schools, provided over 5,000 scholarships for Pakistani students to study English and awarded scholarships to more than 12,000 Pakistani students to study at Pakistani higher education institutions through various USAID educational programs. The United States also currently supports nineteen partnerships between Pakistani and U.S.-based universities.