Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Coordinator General COMSTECH Dr Javaid R Laghari on Friday said that OIC countries seek cooperation and collaboration in science, technology and innovation with the European Union for the socio economic development and growth of their respective youths .
Laghari was addressing an audience as a ikeynote speaker at the plenary session of the conference on EU Science: Global Challenges, Global Collaboration” which was chaired by the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny who is also the President of the European Union. The conference was held in Brussels.
Dr Laghari said that “OIC countries possess 70 percent of the earth’s energy resources and 40 percent of its natural resources, yet 40 percent of the population of OIC lives below the poverty line and 70 percent of its women are illiterate.
He said that most OIC countries have not invested in higher education, science and technology which is essential for rapid industrialization through research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
He said “Developing countries need to do research and build up capacities in food security, health, climate change and energy, among other areas as the population is expected to double in the next forty years.”
He said that there is need for innovative research which can change and improve the quality of life. He said; “an example is cancer research through which cure has now been found for this deadly disease. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has now made collaboration much easier, and knowledge is now easily available and freely accessible through massive open online purses (MOOCs)”.
He celebrated that research in Pakistan has significantly impacted agriculture and livestock, where new strains of plants and new breeds of animals are beginning to change lives of farmers and rural areas.
He concluded “HEC by supporting such research and new knowledge initiatives has been a game changer in Pakistan over the last decade, which other countries in South Asia are now beginning to emulate”.