Britain, Pakistan unveils roadmap for cultural, educational cooperation

British Prime Minister David Cameron and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Wednesday in London, and unveiled a roadmap for further bilateral cooperation in culture and education. The two leaders underscored their commitment to support the BritainK-Pakistan relationship by agreeing to open a new British Deputy High Commission in Lahore, Punjab, Downing Street said in a statement. The visit marks the launch of a Britain-Pakistan cultural and education cooperation "roadmap" which sets out the basis of cultural engagement between the two countries, enabling collaboration on a calendar of cultural engagement for the next three years, the statement said. In partnership with British providers, the roadmap includes the British Council's commitment to train one million teachers of English over the next four years in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces in Pakistan to help enhance the quality of English language teaching in the country, it added. A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the status of the British Council in Pakistan listed a range of joint activities around the British Council's work there, including English language learning, arts and the creative industries. The roadmap also highlights work through the British Department for International Development to support delivery of primary and secondary education in Pakistan, which aims to benefit 4 million more children in school by 2015 and train 90,000 teachers per year, according to the statement. The visit was Sharif's first official bilateral tour to Britain since Pakistan's landmark elections in May 2013.