27 developing nations make up the intergovernmental body COMSATS, whose secretariat is housed in Islamabad by the Pakistani government.
The World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) and the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) signed a letter of intent (LoI) to begin the process of formalising science and technology cooperation and eventually sign an MOU.
The science and technology cooperation memorandum of understanding that will be signed will serve as a framework for COMSATS member states’ R&D organisations, research scholars, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovators. Amb. Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director of COMSATS, and Baybars Altuntas, Chairman of WBAF, signed the letter of intent on behalf of their respective companies.
Ghulam Muhammad Memon, federal secretary for the ministry of science and technology, attended as the event’s chief guest. He was present for the signing ceremony along with veteran diplomat Ambassador Shahid Kamal, who had previously worked as the COMSATS’s advisor.
Senior COMSATS officials were also present for the event. 27 developing nations make up the intergovernmental body COMSATS, whose secretariat is housed in Islamabad by the Pakistani government.
COMSATS was established in 1994 with the overarching goal of closing the knowledge and technological gap between the global north and south, an idea advanced by Pakistani Nobel Laureate and Theoretical Physicist Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam.
COMSATS University Islamabad, formerly the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, is a public university in Pakistan. It is a university with multiple campuses, with Islamabad acting as the administrative hub. COMSATS was designed to be the first exclusive institute of information technology in Pakistan.
Since then, COMSATS has focused more on fostering R&D, entrepreneurship, innovations, and the alignment of research with the market.
In order to develop smart policies that will give financial support to startups, scaleups, SMEs, and all entrepreneurs to help them transform their businesses, WBAF, an affiliate partner of the G-20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), engages policymakers and partners.