The Center of Excellence in Mineral Resources Engineering is going to be jointly built by China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) and Pakistan-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences & Technology (PAF-IAST). In this connection, the two universities held an online agreement signing ceremony, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday. “The signing of this agreement is not only the first major international event of CUMT in 2021, but also a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations. We believe the Center will provide strong talent and scientific support for the development of PAF-IAST, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Belt & Road Initiative (BRI),” CUMT President Song Xuefeng addressed the cerenomy. Since 2018, the two universities have held rounds of consultations on the Center’s establishment. Focusing on mineral resources engineering, the Center will launch varied cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific and technological research and development, and technology transformation. Specifically, the two universities will carry out joint master’s degree and PhD program of mining engineering as well as mineral processing engineering in the future. “Mineral resource cooperation is one of the top priorities identified by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. We sincerely hope to cooperate with CUMT in teaching and scientific research related to this area. We look forward to resuming exchange visits as soon as possible after the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Prof. Atta-ur Rahman, Chairman of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Task Force on Science and Technology at the ceremony. It may be mentioned here that PAF-IAST was inaugurated by Imran Khan on September 17, 2020. The Institute aims to improve credible technical education infrastructure both at tertiary and hi-tech industry levels. Many renowned Chinese universities including CUMT, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT) and Jiangsu University (JSU) are providing generous support in a wide range of disciplines.