December 16, 2006	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: The US government has turned down 30 proposals for financial assistance put up by researchers belonging to Pakistani universities and scientific and technological organisations, Dawn has learnt.

An American delegation led by Dr Arden Bement, who works as a director for the National Science Foundation in the US, visited Pakistan in October and was given the research proposals by Pakistani scholars.

Islamabad had expressed its willingness to provide one-thirds of the projects’ cost, provided the US government invested the remaining two-thirds of it.

However, the US delegation informed the Pakistani officials that the US would not be providing funds for the research projects. An official told Dawn that the projects would have cost over $100 million a year.

Pakistan had suggested a 10-year collaboration in the higher education sector between the two countries.

“This is a major setback. It makes mockery of the whole exercise of intended collaboration between the two countries and if funding is not provided for this programme then no real cooperation can take place,” the official said.

Researchers involved in the exercise have also expressed their reservations about whether the US government was seriously interested in strengthening Pakistan in the scientific and technological fields.

During President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit to the US in March, strong linkages between the two countries in higher education sector and S&T were high on the agenda.

Subsequently, a joint declaration was issued in which Presidents Bush and Musharraf had decided to initiate a major collaboration programme in the higher education and S&T sectors.