Musharraf calls for North-South cooperation: Science and technology
GENEVA, Jan 28: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has called for improved North-South cooperation in science and technology and said it would enable millions of people in the developing countries to realize the goal of rapid socio-economic progress.
He said this during a visit to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Stressing the need for information sharing, he said knowledge and expertise should not be confined to the developed world.
“It is vitally important for equitable development that knowledge is shared and used for emancipation of humanity, and in this developed world has a responsibility to increase its cooperation with the developing countries.”
Similarly, the president said, the developing world should also realise the importance of advancement in the fields of science and technology and allocate more resources for their development.
Appreciating the high quality of work and services being rendered by the CERN, the president said it was a “great facility of the world”.
He lauded the CERN for providing opportunity to many Pakistani scientists for research in its premier laboratory.
“I feel proud that Pakistan has been associated very closely for the past 11 years with CERN,” he said at the gathering, where the CERN and Pakistan signed two memorandums of understanding for greater cooperation.
On the occasion, the president also announced an allocation of five million Swiss francs for collaboration between CERN and Pakistan over the next three years.
These funds would be available to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) for coordinating the collaboration of CERN with different scientific and academic institutions of Pakistan.
Underscoring the importance of science and technology for faster growth of Pakistani economy, he said the country had increased manifold the budget for advancement in these fields and “today the Higher Education Commission of the country receives unprecedented finances for this goal”.
“We needed this commitment to stimulate social and economic development and to make effective interventions in health, education, agriculture, industry and communication,” he said amid rousing applause.
Informing eminent scientists about Pakistan’s targets, he said the country aimed at producing 1,500 PhDs annually by 2010.
“A nationwide digital library has been launched to support research by universities in the country,” he said.
President Musharraf said Pakistan realized the importance of science and technology for fast-paced progress and the country was in the process of building six high-tech universities so that the country may have expertise in accordance with requirements of its industrial advancement.
“Let’s hope that our collaboration today will be a seed for further international cooperation for peace and development, for harmony and understanding.”
CERN acknowledged the outstanding contribution of Pakistani engineers and scientists and bestowed an award of collaboration on PAEC Chairman Perwaiz Butt.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Minister for Higher Education Dr Attaur Rehman, Minister for Industries Jahangir Khan Tareen, Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and Secretary Information Shahid Rafi accompanied the president. — APP
