The call was made by Awan after her visit to Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), the world's largest women's university recently inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

After taking a tour of the PNU, Awan said she appreciated the visionary approach of King Abdullah in the field of education, adding: "Pakistan has great potentials in education, culture and the media that can be harnessed for mutual benefits." Awan was impressed while taking the tour of the SR20-billion PNU campus and watching the cluster of magnificent high-tech college buildings which have a cumulative capacity of 50,000 students.

On arrival at PNU campus, Awan was received by Noura Al-Fayez, deputy minister for girls' education; and PNU President Huda bint Muhammad Al-Ameel. She also visited the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, located at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in the capital city. Before wrapping up her three-day visit to Riyadh, the minister interacted with another group of community members at a grand reception hosted by Asghar Qureshi, a businessman and community leader.

Referring to her talks with Saudi officials, she said: "The two sides had agreed to sign a number of protocols dealing with media cooperation, exchange of media experts and viewing of each other's programs in their countries."

According to the latest figures, the amount of remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis, which was recorded at $627 million in 2005, has now increased to $1.822 billion in 2010. The number of Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia has exceeded to 1.5 million, the highest overseas population of the country living abroad. She pointed out that a bill regarding right to vote for overseas Pakistanis would soon be passed in the National Assembly of Pakistan.