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ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday urged Muslim countries to join hands in the promotion of science and technology to find ways to end poverty and ensure provision of basic facilities to their people. “Muslim countries need to increase their budget for scientific research as skillful human resource is the basis of a developed society,” the President said in his address at the inauguration of 15th session of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).
Pakistan is hosting the two-day COMSTECH General Assembly in the capital, where delegates from 57 Muslim countries have gathered to propose a 10-year plan worth $2.1 billion comprising initiatives to promote science and technology.
President Mamnoon Hussain and the COMSTECH chairman said promotion of science was the best expression of human abilities and Muslim scientists had played a significant role in world progress till the 16th century. He regretted that despite abundant resources, the contribution of Muslim countries at present in the fields of science and technology was negligible.
He mentioned that in comparison with the developed world, the combined budget of Muslim countries in the field of science
and technology was only 2.4 %, the ratio of research papers was a paltry 6% and internationally recognised patent inventions were a mere 1.5 %.
“Due to this backwardness, we have not been able to prepare scientists and engineers and are relying on developed countries to fulfill our technical needs,” he said. Mamnoon Hussain termed scientists the “best asset of a society” and expressed hope that the conference would prove successful in reviving the glowing Muslim traditions of a strong scientific foundation. He lauded COMSTECH for initiating several programmes for the promotion of science and technology including training courses, workshops, seminars and scholarships to scientists of member countries.
He expressed confidence that the conference would help the OIC countries achieve the Untied Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Secretary General OIC Iyad Ameen Madani said the world was facing challenges related to energy, environment and water scarcity, to which socially sensitive solutions based on innovation were the need of the hour. He said OIC was contributing towards improved healthcare, particularly polio eradication and cancer treatment.
President Islamic Development Bank Ahmed Muhammad Ali said the Bank was focusing on providing finances for technological training and scholarships for promotion of science. Turkey’s ambassador to Pakistan Babur Girgin read out the message of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is the current OIC Chairman. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanvir Hussain said Pakistan was committed for the promotion of innovation and scientific research for betterment of people’s lives.
President Mamnoon also addressed the plenary session of the General Assembly, where he expressed satisfaction over the 10-year plan which was a contribution of 150 scientists from 20 OIC states.
He asked the Coordinator General Assembly to work out a plan to promote scientific research particularly in underdeveloped Muslim countries. The President also conferred awards on distinguished scientists from Muslim countries.
He also appealed to the delegates from Muslim countries to pray for the health and early recovery of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who underwent open heart surgery in London earlier this week.
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