ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: The federal science minister, Prof (Dr) Attaur Rehman, has said that the 21st century will be a knowledge driven century with an emphasis on human resource development.

He was speaking at a two-day meeting on science and technology for sustainable development held at Comsats Headquarters on Monday.

He said natural resources were not so important in relation to the challenges and demands the century posed. “What is significant is how we transform them with the application of science and technology to fulfil our modern day requirements,” he added.

The minister said it was important that knowledge and technology should go hand in hand as the excellence in basic scientific areas. Application of technology was the only way we could do away with the scourge of poverty in the developing world, he added.

The meeting was also addressed by the Nigerian high commissioner, Idris Waziri, and the Syrian charge d’ affairs, Badi Khattab.

They called upon the countries of the South to concentrate on removing disparity within the Third World through active South-South cooperation. They lauded Comsats’ efforts in bridging the gap between the North and South and pledged full support to further the missions of the commission.

Earlier, Comsats executive director Dr Hameed Ahmed Khan said sustainability was a continuous process, never restricted to a time period. It called for constant investment of time and resources if meaningful social and economic developments was to be achieved, he added.