Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and Technology in the South (COMSATS) on Tuesday organised a forum on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Speakers on the occasion emphasised the need to focus on science and technology through which countries could flourish and achieve the development goals.

COMSATS Executive Director Dr Junaid Zaidi said COMSATS, being a forum for science and technology, was trying to cooperate with the organisations which were working on SDGs. He said that 25 member countries of COMSATS would develop best universities like COMSATS Institute for Information Technology (CIIT) in respective countries.

COMSATS was working on its goal to give its membership to further 25 countries with total of 50 countries within next four years, he said.

COMSATS Advisor Shahid Kamal said, “South-South Cooperation (SSC) was already playing its vital role and expressed the hope that it will continue playing its greater role in future also.”

He said that SSC was introduced in 1978 with the name of technical cooperation. He stressed the need to pay more focus on global issues, role of science and technology and platforms partnerships.

He said north countries should also participates in South-South Cooperation as it plays a integral part and this is a relevant forum to utilize it productively.

He said Science and Technology needs to be considered in SSC countries like low incomes can be flourished through science and technology by introducing different innovations.

Deputy Head of European Union (EU) delegation Anne Marshal said, “Science and technology was important for SDGs and urged that it should have more focus on poverty, climate change and prosperity.”

She said Horrizon-2020 was working on several projects including in Pakistan where it was working on seven projects to produce world class scientists.

Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of People’s Republic of China, Zhao Lijian said that China has started poverty eradication campaign in 2016.

He added until now 700 million people were uplifted while further 40 million people will be uplifted from poverty level by 2020.

UNIDO Country Head Esam Alqararah said CPEC would attract a large number of investors in Pakistan through which trade would increase.

Published in Daily Times, September 13^th 2017.