ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: Delegations from 57 OIC member states are expected to participate in the 10th general assembly of Comstech, the inter-ministerial committee on science and technological (S&T) cooperation, to be held here from February 16 to 18.

The Ministry of Science and Technology will be hosting and organizing the conference, which is being held at Convention Centre, Islamabad, says a press release issued here on Friday.

Comstech is a specialized committee established by the OIC for coordinating research activities among the member states with a view to creating an environment conducive to the development of science and technology. The president of Pakistan is the chairman of the committee.

The prime purpose of Comstech is to undertake follow-up action and implementation of relevant resolutions of the OIC to study means of strengthening cooperation among the member states.

The committee is also responsible for formulating programmes and submitting proposals designed to increase the science and technology capability of the member states.

The objectives of the committee are to assess human and material resources of the member states to determine their needs in various related fields. It also works for promoting scientific and technological cooperation and coordination among the member states through collaborative scientific research in common problems of the OIC region.

Comstech is also responsible for creating a mechanism to pool up the resources of Muslim countries, and for creating an effective institutional network for planning research and gearing up development of science and technology in different areas.

The committee secretariat runs a variety of programmes including visiting scientists programme, spare parts, free scientific literature search service programme, Comstech-Isesco database of active scientists programme, research support for young scientists, assistance for conference, workshops and seminars, and a number of collaborative programmes with other international organizations.