Commission on STSD in the South (COMSATS) Joint Centre for Industrial Biotechnology Inaugurated in Tianjin, China

ISLAMABAD: COMSATS Joint Centre for Industrial Biotechnology (CCIB) was inaugurated today in Tianjin, China. The Centre is to become the regional hub for research and development, capacity building, and technology transfer in the areas of industrial biotechnology for COMSATS’ 27 Member Countries including Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain in his inaugural speech appreciated the role being played by COMSATS in facilitating collaborations among the developing countries in S&T domains. He noted that scientific prowess in industrial biotechnology will go a long way in improving our agriculture, healthcare, environment, and other areas of importance and that humanity will be able to fight the challenges of hunger, poverty, diseases, and environmental degradation in an effective manner.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Linhao Chen, Deputy Director-General, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology noted that COMSATS’ Member Countries, among other things, are rich in biomass and that R&D collaboration in industrial biotechnology will bring a lot of benefits to them.

The highlight of the meeting was the signing of an agreement to establish CCIB by Dr. Arshad Mahmood, the Executive Director of COMSATS, who is also Pakistan’s Federal Secretary for Science and Technology,

During the meeting, the appointed Director of CCIB, Prof. Dr. Jibin Sun, gave a brief on development plans, programs, and activities of the Centre. Subsequently, a consultative meeting was held among the members of CCIB’s Consultative Committee and TAC. The meeting discussed means to promote high-level joint R&D; furthering innovative ways for capacity building; promoting technology transfer among the member countries; and building the Joint Center into a high-end think tank.