Speakers for having constructive international partnerships in S&T

Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday emphasized the need for building constructive international partnerships in science and technology to deal effectively with trans-boundary challenges pertaining to climate change, energy, water, poverty reduction, health and education.

The Seminar on Science Diplomacy was organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) and OIC Ministerial Standing committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).

The event was also supported by Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF), Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in South (COMSATS) and Technology Times.

The seminar focused on the role of science in diplomacy noting that science, technology and innovation have also been recognized as the key drivers for the achievement of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Welcoming the participants of the meeting in his inaugural address, Dr Tariq Banuri, Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC), underscored the need for building constructive international partnerships in science and technology to deal effectively with trans-boundary challenges.

He said that through the science and technology the challenges pertaining to climate change, energy, water, poverty reduction, health and education can be addressed affectively.

He said that on the one hand, diplomats have been instrumental in promoting scientific and technological collaboration between states while on the other, science and technology cooperation has been employed as a tool of diplomacy for soft, and sometimes hard, power projection.

Additional Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Aftab Khokhar in his address appreciated the seminar on science diplomacy and highlighted the steps taken by Ministry of Foreign Affairs to further the science diplomacy initiative.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched its "Science Diplomacy Initiative" in January 2019 as an instrument for diplomacy to foster Pakistan's international STI collaborations and bring sharper focus in the foreign policy realm on SDGs implementation and government's socio-economic development agenda.

The seminar was attended by the members of the diplomatic corps, the think tank community, public and private sector civil society organizations, members of academia and students from various universities in Islamabad.