Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday called for enhancing co-operation among Comsats member countries for promotion of science and technology.
Addressing as chief guest at the inaugural session of two-day Comsats Commission meeting and later in the evening at a dinner hosted for participants of the member countries, Gilani said his government despite fiscal constraints has initiated various programmes for development of science and technology. Delegates of more than 20 countries are attending the second Comsats Commission meeting on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development.
The Prime Minister said the meeting of member countries would also provide an opportunity to deliberate upon different ways to further strengthening mutual co-operation among member states, as well as to set future direction for this co-operation. He said it goes without saying technological advancement has brought about a revolution in the lives of people in the recent decades and the government was also taking measures to promote educations of S&T in the country. In this regard, he said the Ministry of Science and Technology has prepared the National Science, Technology & Innovation (ST & I) Policy, in consultation with stakeholders, which has been approved in principle by the government and the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
The ST&I Policy is in line with the new Economic Growth Strategy aims at making science, technology and innovation major vehicles of sustainable progress and development through co-ordinated actions of S&T organisations, academia and industry.
Gilani said he has given instructions to the Executive Director to elect a new Chairperson of the Comsats from another member country. He urged the member countries to send their students for graduate programmes in Comsats institutes of information Technology (CIIT) as well as in other educational institutions of the country in different fields of science and engineering.
Earlier, speaking at the opening session of the Commission meeting, he said that the twenty-first century is going to be a decisive century in defining the shape of the new World Order.
He termed the rapid increase in population increases the developing countries, dilemmas of energy and industrial growth in the face of climatic hazards, weaknesses in global economic management system, global conflicts, rising costs of food, health and education, widening gaps of trust and confidence between the South and North as major challenges, which will influence the course of our destinies and those of our coming generations.
The Prime Minister said that a still higher challenge would be ever widening knowledge gap between the advanced countries and the developing countries, specially, in their different S&T capacities.
The negative effects of this gap will be borne mainly by the populations of developing countries. It is very clear that we cannot make significant progress in science and technology unless we cooperate with one another, pool our available intellectual and economic resources for collective benefits and above all give a central place to science and technology in our policy decisions backed with strong political and financial support.
Gilani urged the member countries to ensure the long-term availability of sufficient funds for Comsats to implement its enhanced programme for common benefit. For this purpose, he proposed for consideration, the establishment of an Endowment Fund of $10 million with input from the member countries and international donor organisations. If this is agreed in principle during this meeting, my government is ready to contribute $1 million towards the Comsats Endowment Fund. The Prime Minister said that the South-South co-operation is indispensable for the sustainable progress of the developing world in the present century.
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