HYDERABAD, Feb 23: The international media has badly tainted the image of Pakistan which could be corrected by the promotion of cultural and educational programmes, said Consul-General of Germany in Karachi Dr Christian Brecht.

The country needed to address the origin of problems linked to poverty for bringing about peace, he said while conveying Germany’s hopes of stability and peace in Pakistan.He said this while delivering a lecture on “Pakistan-Germany Relationship” at Sindh University’s Senate Hall Jamshoro on Monday. The lecture was attended by faculty members from different departments and students of the department of International Relations.

The Consul-General said that Pakistan and Germany enjoyed long history of friendship among their scholars.

Germany was a model among European states for being active and having cordial relation with its neighbours, he said adding that the EU countries were united and striving to produce more opportunities for their people in a peaceful ambience.

He likened Pakistan to Germany for running the same system of governments and revealed that his country required skilled workers for its textile sector.

“Many Pakistani projects are funded by our government and Germany is also actively participating in cultural, archaeological and educational fields”, he said.

The SOS village of Balochistan was being funded by Germany and financing of the SOS village too, was on the cards, he said.

The German consulate in Karachi was carrying out micro-level projects, including donation of books, machinery for small factories and medical equipment, he said, and added that it was also providing training in broadcasting and German language course.

“Our country too is facing the brunt of economic meltdown like others,” revealed the German envoy with hopes that the two countries would continue to enjoy fruitful relations in future.

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Sindh, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui said that the German system of education was a demanding one and the people over there were hardworking and respectful.

The vice-chancellor welcomed the offer of scholarships for faculty and students and launching of German language course.

Earlier, Dr Brecht, Gurdrun S. Haider, Vice-Consul of German Consulate in Karachi, and Prof Dr Agathe Merceron of Berlin University of Department of Informatics, Applied Sciences met with the vice-chancellor at his office.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Rafia Ahmed Shaikh, Registrar Mohammad Saleh Rajar, Director Area Study Centre, Far East and South East Asia, Dr Parveen Usmani, Dr Imdad Ali Ismaili, Director, Institute of Information and Communication Technology and Dr Mohammad Saleem Chandio, Director, Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, also attended the meeting. —APP