With a second wave of the novel coronavirus now sweeping most countries, Islamabad has urged all COMSAT member states to work together to tackle the pandemic and to address the associated socio-economic fallouts.
This was urged on Monday by the Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry as he addressed the fourth ministerial-level consultative committee of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS). The meeting was attended by 30 delegates from some 19 countries who deliberated on a nine-point agenda during the virtually hosted meeting.
Chaudhry urged his counterparts in the 26 other member states to collaboratively address the pandemic and the associated socio-economic fallout. Further, he urged them to duly support COMSATS’ operations by all means, especially through more regular annual membership contributions.
Pakistan, the minister explained, has established cooperative relationships in science and technology with several research, innovation and entrepreneurship centres across the world under their Knowledge Economy Initiative.
These centres, he said, focus on artificial intelligence and allied technologies, advanced technologies in biomedical materials, mineral resources engineering, agriculture food technologies and railway engineering.
COMSATS Executive Director Dr SM Junaid Zaidi remarked that scientific collaboration is important for the South-South and triangular cooperation. He encouraged member states to use COMSATS as a forum to incubate partnerships and find innovative approaches to support and speed up the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The delegates called for developing stronger ties amongst their scientists and researchers for coming up with solutions for common development problems, effective cooperation and initiatives at the highest levels for situations such as the ongoing pandemic, scientific and academic exchanges as well as developing strategies to address food security and climate change.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment from focal ministries of COMSATS member states for the development of a joint crisis management fund.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2020.
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