The Chair of COMSATS is held by the Republic of Ghana, and Chair of the COMSATS Commission is currently held by Hon. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Dr. Eugene Owusu, Special Advisor to the President of Ghana on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Liaison for COMSATS affairs, and Ambassador Dr. M. Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director of COMSATS, discussed Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) led regional development.
The Chair of COMSATS is held by the Republic of Ghana, and the Chair of the COMSATS Commission is currently held by Hon. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana.
The Special Advisor congratulated Ambassador Zakaria, the recently appointed Executive Director, on his first one-on-one encounter. Dr. Owusu was given a briefing by Ambassador Nafees on the various initiatives and ideas he has planned to determine the future course of action.
He informed the advisor of the results of the 24th meeting of the COMSATS Coordinating Council, which was held in Karachi, Pakistan, and was comprised of the directors of international centres of excellence connected to the COMSATS Network.
Both stressed the need to fully utilize the centres of excellence’s expertise. They concurred that an R&D fund was necessary to support the member states’ talent.
Dr. Owusu valued the Executive Director’s ideas and thought they were excellent for maximizing the overall operations of COMSATS as an intergovernmental organisation with a focus on ST&I-led sustainable progress.
Many countries and regions around the world have successfully implemented ST&I-led regional development strategies. These strategies typically include investments in education and training, R&D, infrastructure, and policy and regulatory frameworks that promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
They decided that the Executive Director could travel to Ghana in particular and to other Member States to inform them of his plans. The advisor said it was a good idea to hold the Commission meeting this year along with the Accra Forum gathering.
They made it clear that they were committed to cooperating closely in order to strategically plan and mobilize scientific and technological resources for development that would be transformative.