Our recent IVLP group in the U.S. “Young Leaders: NGOs and Civic Activism” had the opportunity to meet the Secretary of State and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken gave encouraging remarks about the exchange programs and Pakistan U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN).

He said, “And we have a thriving network of more than 37,000 alumni of our cultural programs, our exchange programs, throughout Pakistan. They’re making exceptional contributions to the sciences and business through public service. In fact, as I said, we’re fortunate this afternoon to be joined by several current Fulbright scholars and participants in our International Visitors Leadership Program. We had a chance to meet them briefly before. If you were here, would you just stand up for a minute?

These friends are the future of the relationship, and I’m convinced that the exchange programs that we have will mean that for years to come, decades to come, and generations to come, the relationship will be strong and will grow even stronger. So, we’re grateful for your presence here today, but especially for your participation in these programs.

The alumni that we’ve seen in our programs have done and continue to do remarkable things in giving back to their societies, and to their countries: standing up for the needs of Pakistanis with disabilities, increasing women’s involvement in politics and policymaking, providing counseling and health services to displaced people across Pakistan, and so much more. And now they’re in the United States to work on things like advocacy strategies to be even more effective – if that’s possible – in the work they’re doing, but also to share their knowledge, their experience, their perspectives with American students.

This is profoundly a two-way street, and one of the things that I love about the exchange programs is, quite honestly, we get more out of them than anyone else. We are learning through the experiences that are being shared, the perspectives that are being shared, and the knowledge that’s being shared. So, thank you for that as well, because it’s making a difference here in the United States.”

To see his complete address follow the link:

Credits: U.S. Department of State