Islamabad: US announcing to continue its opposition to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project has stressed on Pakistan that instead of focusing on getting gas from Iran should focus on resources for alternate energy.
These views were expressed by the U.S. Charge d'Affaires, Peter W. Bodde, while speaking at the fourth annual Fulbright Alumni Conference which concluded at the Quaid-e-Azam University on Saturday and talking to reporters.
He said that we are in favour of the IPI gas pipeline project and would continue its opposition and Pakistan should lay more focus on finding means for alternate energy resources such as from coal or wind or solar energy. He said with these alternate energy resources Pakistan can conserve energy by 20 percent and increase energy production.
He said that US would continue its cooperation with Pakistan in this regard.
He said that Pakistan would have to assist the Karzai government for improvement of situation in Afghanistan and the region he said that terrorism cannot be bought to an end by military offensive in tribal areas much is needed to be done to being economic and social change in these areas
Declaring the Fulbright Program around the world and especially in Pakistan “as a vital and honored part of U.S. foreign policy” Mr. Bodde while speaking at the fourth annual Fulbright Alumni Conference said “In just four years our bilateral Fulbright program with Pakistan has grown from a $2 million-a-year program to one of over $30 million a year – now the largest in the world,” the American diplomat emphasized. “More than 200 Pakistanis are currently studying in the U.S. under this program.”
Mr. Bodde said that during the coming academic semester American scholars will also begin to return as Fulbright Scholars to Pakistan to teach and conduct research at Pakistani universities and other institutions of higher education.
“It is vitally important that scholars, educators, and researchers from our two nations as well as in the wider region participate in such scholarly exchanges and engage regularly and learn from one another,” the U.S. Charge d'Affaires said.
About 100 Fulbright alumni from across Pakistan, and most of the more than 200 Fulbright grantees who will be proceeding to the United States on scholarships in the fall, attended the two-day conference, organized by the United States Educational Foundation-Pakistan (USEFP).
The conference centered around the theme “dialogue between cultures.” Scholars from the United States, who are currently in-residence academics in other South Asian countries, also attended the conference.
“The Fulbright program is the flagship program of all U.S.-government funded academic and exchange programs,” Dr. Grace Clark, Executive Director of USEFP, said. “The goal of all the Fulbright programs is to increase mutual understanding of the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries throughout the world.”
Earlier in the conference, the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, James H. Williams, delivered a talk on the importance of cultural diplomacy in the U.S.-Pakistan strategic partnership.
USEFP is one of 51 "Fulbright Commissions" located throughout the world. Since the conception of USEFP in 1951, the Foundation has sent about 1465 Pakistani Grantees under various programs to the U.S and 821 U.S Grantees have come to Pakistan.
The USEFP is a bi-national commission dedicated to improving mutual understanding of the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States of America through educational exchange opportunities. The Foundation's programs focus on higher educational experiences in the U.S. and Pakistan. | 
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