ISLAMABAD, June 28: President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday held out Pakistan’s resolve to promote science and technology, saying that economic growth achieved through modern knowledge would help alleviate poverty and curb extremism in the long-term perspective.

Advancement in science and technology was directly related to the progress of society and economic development of the nation, he said while addressing the inaugural session of the 30th International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs.

“The spin-off of scientific and technological development is immense as it leads to much higher growth and brings about a rapid improvement in the quality of life, therefore, encouraging scientific and technological uplift is in line with our commitment to pass on the benefits of economic gains to common man,” he emphasized.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and the National Centre for Physics has jointly organized the summer college.

Dilating on the enormous socio-economic benefits, President Musharraf said: “When a nation grows economically, it contributes to poverty alleviation, which eventually helps in countering extremism and terrorism.”

He also enumerated a series of initiatives taken in the last six years for bolstering science and technology and said the annual budgetary allocations for science and technology had been enhanced manifold, from a mere Rs15 million in 1999 to Rs12 billion this year.

Likewise, he informed the international gathering, per annum spending on higher education has witnessed a phenomenal increase from Rs500 million to Rs10 billion during the period.

In this context, he referred to Pakistan’s commitment to keeping pace with scientific advancements at the higher level and cited the Australian and New Zealand governments’ will to offer 700 fully funded scholarships for Pakistani students in various disciplines up to the PhD level.

“That will be a great leap forward in Pakistan’s quest to catch up with the industrialized world and go for still higher economic growth through expertise in different fields.”

The president said Pakistan was set to provide clean drinking water to its entire populace by 2008, and said this had been possible due to indigenous success in devising inexpensive purification plants.

In reply to PAEC Chairman Pervez Butt’s call for top-level efforts in securing the advanced countries’ cooperation for making peaceful use of nuclear technology, the president said he would take up the matter as the country needed nuclear energy to meet its growing energy requirements.—APP