The Pak-US Joint Committee on Science and Technology will hold a two-day meeting in Washington DC on July 19-20, officials said on Tuesday. A three-member Pakistani delegation, led by Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, chairman, Higher Education Commission (HEC), is visiting the United States for this purpose.
The other members include Science and Technology Secretary Dr Parvez Butt, and Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary Shahid Kamal.
The Science and Technology Dialogue is part of the several initiatives agreed between Pakistan and the United States during President George W. Bush's visit to Pakistan in March 2006.
The two sides had inter alia decided to establish the Pak-US Joint Committee on Science and Technology at a higher level, with a view to developing collaborative activities and relationships between the scientific and technological communities and institutions of both countries.
Dr Atta-ur-Rahman is the co-chair from the Pakistan side. From the US side, Dr Arden Bement, director, National Science Foundation, has been appointed as the co-chair.
The Joint Statement on Pak-US Strategic Partnership, issued by President Bush and President Musharraf on March 4, 2006, commits the two sides to build capacity in Pakistan and work towards increased co-operation in science and technology as well as in engineering.
Both sides also agreed to improve the quality, relevance or capacity of education and research at Pakistani institutions of higher education in the field of science and technology.
It was also agreed to enhance institutional capacity of Pakistan in the areas of environment through exchange of experts and developing linkages and collaborative projects with relevant US institutions.
The Pak delegation during its visit to Washington DC would have wide-ranging talks with Dr Arden Bement, head of the National Science Foundation and senior officials of the State Department, Department of Agriculture, USAID, and National Academy of Sciences.
The delegation would also meet with Dr John H. Marburger, adviser to President Bush on science. The delegation would visit Boston and New York, where it is scheduled to have meetings at relevant scientific and educational institutions.
Comments
Comments are closed.