‘COMTECH promoting scientific research in OIC states’

ISLAMABAD—The OIC Standing Committee on Science and Technological Cooperation (Comstech) has taken a number of initiatives to promote scientific research and develop an indigenous capability to solve problems being faced by the Muslim world.
Assistant Coordinator General Dr. Muhammad Ali Mahesar told APP that mission of Comstech is to contribute towards strengthening the individual and collective capacity of OIC members states in Science and Technology through mutual cooperation, collaboration and networking of resources.
Giving details of the projects, he said that Comstech despite its limited sources, is providing Scientific literature search services, Comstech inter-library resources network service, profiles of the Muslim world, travel grants programme, directory of active scientists in OIC members states and their recent publication and Institution building programmes of Comstech. He said that Comstech is facilitating member states in number of areas which has direct economic benefits for like fishers, poultry forestay, water management.
"We want judicious spending of grants that is why focus on those projects whose economic output is high in comparison to spending for the benefit of general people", he said Comstech directory of active scientists is an important effort that is helping to bring OIC scientists together by providing information on the scientific activities of scientists in the OIC region, he said. " This directory helps researchers become aware of investigation in fields similar to their own and establishing contacts with each other", he said.
Besides, Comstech also establish e-mails directory of scientists ,academicians, engineers, research institutions and universities to help improve scientific infrastructure of the OIC region. He said that under scientific literature search service programme, the Comstech provides free of cost scientific journals, research paper and other literature to researchers to keep them abreast with what is happening around the world.
Provision of these journals, mostly not available in OIC universities, will improve quality as well as quantity of scientific research, he added. To give an opportunity to scientists to acquire knowledge, exchange information and correlate each other's research progress, the Comstech also gives travel assistance to scientists attending seminar, workshops and conferences abroad.—APP
The Comstech also established Inter-Islamic network of 10 high technology institutions: Water resources development and management in Jordan, Oceanography (Turkey), Space Sciences and Technology( Pakistan), Renewable Energy Sources (Niger) Genetic Engineering an Biotechnology (Cairo), Tropical Medicines (Malaysia), Biosaline Technology(UAE), Information Technology (Pakistan), Veterinary Science Research (Sudan), Environment (Sudan) to enable OIC members states to develop a respectable level of research.