The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have jointly conferred awards on Pakistan’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) and five of the country's scientists, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement, issued on Wednesday, says the NIAB and the scientists have been given the awards in recognition of "Pakistan’s advancement in the application of nuclear technology for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, including food security".

Among the Pakistani recipients of the awards, the NIAB has bagged the Outstanding Achievement Award, a group of four scientists in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has bagged the Team Achievement Award and another PAEC scientist has been given the Young Scientist Award for his work in plant mutation breeding and related technologies, the statement adds.

Award certificates will be presented to the recipients during the IAEA’s 65th General Conference in September 2021.

"Extensive civilian nuclear applications in Pakistan are directly contributing to the well-being of the people and national development in the areas of public health, medicine, agriculture, industry and nuclear power generation," the Foreign Office said in the statement.