CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) Task Force consisting of five experts is conducting meetings with different entities in Pakistan to review Associate Membership of Pakistan for another five years.
Pakistan became Associate Member of CERN on 31st July, 2015 and is contributing to CERN projects including detector technology, heavy mechanical parts fabrication and providing technical support.
PAEC is the lead agency for PAK-CERN collaboration. Other institutes from Pakistan, which have been participating, are NCP, COMSATS, PINSTECH and other universities.
CERN is the premier scientific laboratory established by twenty European Members states in Geneva on the principle of “Science for Peace”.
It has now evolved as the world’s largest Particle Physics laboratory with twenty-three Members, ten Associate Members and six observers. Purpose of CERN is to unravel the frontiers of knowledge and the secrets after the Big Bang; develop new technologies for accelerators and detectors; train scientists and engineers for future; and unite people from different countries and cultures.
Five years of Pakistan’s Associate Membership were completed in July 2020. CERN council designated a task force and decided to carry out five-year review of Associate Membership of Pakistan with CERN virtually from 7th to 18th March 2022, due to the COVID pandemic.
One day meeting was postponed due to extra ordinary call session of CERN council on Russian-Ukraine conflict.
The postponed session will now be conducted on 19th of April, 2022. Virtual meetings of CERN Task Force members with Pakistani delegates were held at length at PAEC Headquarters.
Chairman PAEC, Mr. Muhammad Naeem welcomed all CERN Task Force members for virtual meetings with different entities in Pakistan and elaborated millstones of PAK-CERN collaboration.
On 18th of March, 2022, CERN Task Force members also did virtual meeting with Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Syed Shibli Fraz. On behalf of Government of Pakistan, the Minister thanked the Task Force members for virtual meetings with different institutes and universities of Pakistan.
He appreciated the long-standing collaboration of Pakistan with CERN and particularly the increased cooperation after Pakistan attained the status of Associate Member.
Pakistan has attained numerous benefits from Associate Membership of CERN such as increased number of engineering contracts to support CERN programs, which are beneficial for our industrial sector, human resource development and sharing of techniques and technology in key areas, besides the intellectual benefits, are numerous and manifold.
