Efforts of COMSATS for Strengthening South-South Cooperation Lauded at International Meeting

There were a total of 23 speakers who made presentations in 6 Technical Sessions, of which 11 were foreign experts representing countries of Italy, Morocco, Jordan, Switzerland, Senegal, Germany, Sudan, Nigeria and Turkey. Other participants included eminent scientists, heads of S&T institutions, scholars and students from various academic and research institutions.

The Chief Guest on the occasion, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, while delivering the inaugural address pointed out that success of South-South as well as the North-South collaboration is directly proportional to the capacity of the recipient in absorbing and making use of the transfer of knowledge and technology. He also underscored other important components to success of collaborations, such as, clarity in goal setting, appropriate funding and political commitment. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, in his speech, also spelled out the need to reverse the brain drain and gave a three-tier formula for successful South–South collaboration, which is, identification of priority areas for cooperation, allocation of proper timeframe and funds allocation.

Earlier, the Executive Director COMSATS, Dr. Hameed A. Khan welcomed the gathering and elaborated upon the objectives of the meeting. This was followed by the addresses and comments of Prof. Dr. M. H. A. Hassan, Executive Director Third World Academy of Sciences (Italy) and Dr. Faiq Billal, Director Science, Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Morocco) and Mr. Sarwar O. H. Hobohm, Industrial Development Officer, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, also enlightened the participants about the issues regarding South-South & South-North collaboration in science & technology.

The inaugural ceremony was followed by technical sessions involving presentations by eminent scholars and scientists. The technical sessions were based on a thematic sequence, and various case studies were also presented to substantiate speakers’ view-points. Some of the subjects/topics covered include; Global Partnerships for Building and Sustaining S&T Capacities in Developing Countries, The Role of Scientific Collaborations in Economic Prosperity, Collaboration in Basic Research, Role of Information Technology in International Collaboration, South-South & North-South Collaboration in Strengthening the Innovation Systems and Role of IT in the Health and Health Sector of Pakistan in context of South-South, South-North Collaboration. The speakers emphasized that the national development is possible through effective S&T collaboration and political commitment by the leaders and heads of governments, both in developing and developed countries. They also shed light on the need of designing an appropriate framework to ensure effective development and transfer of technology.

The concluding ceremony, which was held on 13th March, 2004 at the same venue, was chaired by Mr. Onder Yucer, Resident Representative, United Nations Development Program. During his address, he said that collaboration in Science and Technology, particularly in the area of research and development is a must if countries of the South are to address poverty. He also emphasized that modern science and technology offers unprecedented opportunities for economic and human development. Prof. Dr. M.H.A. Hassan and Dr. Faiq Billal supported the general conclusions of the meeting and appreciated the efforts of COMSATS, which as a facilitator, engages experts from different parts of the world. Earlier, Dr. Hameed Ahmed Khan presented the summary of the recommendations of the meeting (please refer to the link below). Dr. Munif Zoubi, Director General Islamic Academy of Sciences (Jordan), Prof. Wolfgang Ensinger, Philipps University of Marburg (Germany), Dr. Ousmane Kane, Executive Director, African Regional Centre for Technology (Senegal), Mr. Zafar Iqbal, Assistant Resident Representative UNDP and Dr. Anwar Nasim, Advisor COMSTECH also spoke on the occasion and appreciated the successful organization of the meeting.

Summary of Recommendations

Selected Presentations/Papers of the Conference