Nine British universities are attending the Mini Education Expo, which is currently in Riyadh, home to some 8,000 of the Kingdom's estimated 20,000 Pakistani students. After two days, the show will move on to Jeddah on Monday.

Alisherzai said his mission aims to bring a positive change in education among Pakistani students in the Kingdom. He added that the show would encourage young men and women from the Pakistani community to go abroad for higher studies.

He also said he is aware that there are agencies promoting education abroad and that complaints about impropriety have been received regarding a number of them.

"I want to eliminate such unscrupulous incidents and want to provide an opportunity for students to choose the right partners for their higher studies," he said.

Alisherzai also said the expo is a unique and pioneering effort by the Pakistani Embassy and is the first ever organized by a foreign mission in the Kingdom. He thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for granting permission to host the event and Syed Abidi of Falcon Education and Consultancy Services (Pvt.) Ltd. for his cooperation in arranging the expo.

The ambassador also announced that Abidi would be working with the Pakistani Embassy in coordinating programs between universities and students in the Kingdom.

Abidi also explained that only nine of 12 universities were able to participate in the program due to flight disruptions in Europe. He said that his company would sponsor the travel to British universities for three top achieving Pakistani students and three teachers for the purpose of exploring the prospects of Pakistani students studying there.

"This would be a great opportunity to get a first hand knowledge of the conditions there. They are expected to educate the other prospective students upon their return," he said. He also said the number of sponsored trips would be increased in the subsequent year.

The education expo has so far been attended by a huge number of young men and women from various Pakistani schools in Riyadh, and their parents and teachers.

Saudi Arabia is home to a large Pakistani expatriate population of around 1.2 million people.