ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and the Engineering Development Board (EDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in research in the engineering goods and services sector.

Dr Nadeemul Haque, Vice Chancellor of PIDE, and Almas Hyder, Chairman of the EDB, signed the document on Thursday. The MoU covers formal collaboration in areas of mutual research interest leading to the development of Pakistan’s engineering goods and services sector on modern lines.

Speaking at the event, the PIDE VC stressed the need to map out and determine the contribution of the engineering industry to the economy in terms of GDP share, investment, and employment generation, and identification of top performers. There is also a need to understand why firms do not grow and why they are not exporting.

Almas Hyder echoed the Vice-Chancellor’s sentiments.

Furthermore, the MoU with PIDE would give the EDB an edge when proposing policy interventions for the development of the engineering industry as these would be based on updated information regarding the current state of the industry. Research and policy go hand in hand, and the industry needs to be mapped out more.

The MoU seeks to promote cooperation in research activities between two institutes. The need to cooperate to achieve the mutually beneficial goal of promoting research and development of the engineering industry, serving critical decisions and policymakers of the country with credible research-based analysis is acknowledged by the MoU.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023