STAFF REPORTER
Avenues of cooperation with Bulgaria in areas of mutual interest have been explored by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable development in the South (COMSATS). Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, Executive Director COMSATS, made a courtesy call to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Pakistan, H.E. Dr. Aleksandar Borisov Parashkevov. During the meeting held at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Islamabad, Dr. Zaidi briefed the newly appointed Ambassador on COMSATS’ operations focused on bringing peace and development in the Global South aided by interventions aimed at socio-economic development through scientific tools and mechanisms. Towards this end, he informed that COMSATS has forged partnerships globally and instituted programmes and projects in health, education, internet services, climate change and sustainability. With membership of 27 countries, COMSATS has completed its 25 years of successful operations with wide array of programmes. These pertain to capacity-building, bilateral and multilateral research, institutionbuilding, international cooperation, scholarship programmes, and expert exchange. The organization’s biggest introductions in the count ry a re COMSATS Unive rsity Islamabad and COMSATS Internet Services, while similar projects have also been initiated in other member states. A network of 22 Centres of Excellence in 20 member countries is providing assistance and resou rces to COMSATS ’ op – erations. They specialize in the fields of Biotechnology & Biomedical Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Health and Medicine, Textile Industry, Nanobiotechnology, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Climate Change, Industrial Technologies, and Water Resources. The matter of Bulgaria’s possible accession to COMSATS was discussed during the meeting. The Bulgarian Ambassador assured of his support for expediting the membership process. Dr. Parashkevov expressed interest in collaborating with COMSATS’ Network for expert-exchanges, faculty development, training and capacity building of scientific workforce.
