6th Meeting of the Executive Committee of ECOSF convened virtually
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The 6th Meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF) was held virtually (online) on April 21, 2021. The Meeting was chaired by the President ECOSF Prof. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro and attended by the Representatives of the Member States of ECO namely; the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. ECO Secretariat was represented by the Head of Section for International Relations.
President ECOSF opened the meeting and warmly welcomed the distinguished participants. He expressed the hope that positive and constructive contributions by the participants of the meeting would help to successfully finalize the recommendations and endorsements. Subsequently, in his remarks, President ECOSF appreciated the support and patronage of the Government of Pakistan and other member states as well as the ECO Secretariat in furthering the activities of the Foundation. He also highlighted major points of the progress of ECOSF.
During the meeting, the Heads of delegations delivered their statements and highlighted the potential of regional cooperation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, research and innovation. They appreciated the advocacy efforts and progress of ECOSF for promotion of science and technology in the region and collaboration among the Member States through mobility of S&T community and various S&T events including capacity building in science education. They renewed their firm commitment to support the programs of the Foundation and resolved to make it more efficient and productive specialized agency of the ECO.
The Committee stressed upon the need for enhanced cooperation between universities and Institutions of ECO Member States through joint programs and scholarships. Afterwards, the Head of Section for International Relations in the ECO Secretariat, Mr. Muhammad Farooq made brief remarks and appreciated the Foundation for the efforts made to promote STI despite funding constraints and Covid19.
The Scientific Officer (SO) Engr. Khalil Raza made a PowerPoint presentation on the progress of the Foundation and highlighted the major activities of ECOSF since the last Meeting of ECOSF BoT held on 09th July 2019 preceded by the ECOSF EC. The SO ECOSF presented the status of various initiatives and programmes being undertaken by the Foundation to promote the Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) in the ECO region. He outlined and presented a snapshot of various events and activities undertaken by the Foundation to strengthen STI in the region.
The EC appreciated the activities and initiatives of the Foundation for developing and promoting cooperation among the Member States as well as with the international organizations in the field of science and technology. The EC particularly appreciated ECOSF for its contribution in bringing together international knowledge resources for the ECO Member States and mobilizing scientific and technical inputs towards addressing critical challenges of COVID-19 in the ECO region. The EC also appreciated the Foundation for continued progress towards the IBSE capacity building in member states in collaboration with its international partners.
The EC highly valued the Foundation for maintaining strong collaboration and network with international, regional and national organizations and UNESCO; and encouraged it to continue more cooperation with the international science organizations and Forums for the benefit of the ECO region with particular reference to engagement of youth and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the ECO vision by the ECO member states.
Later, the EC held in-depth discussions and made approvals and recommendations on matters. It gave approval of ECOSF Accounts 2019 & 2020, Budget Estimates for the years 2021 and 2022. ECOSF Annual Report 2019 and Draft Work Plan [2021 & 2022 (tentative)] were also approved. The EC finalized and adopted the report of the Meeting.
At the end, the President ECOSF thanked the delegates for their participation and valuable contributions to the deliberations. He expressed gratitude to the Government of the Pakistan, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology, MSRT of Iran and the ECO Secretariat for their support to the Foundation. He also appreciated the efforts of ECOSF Secretariat for successful holding of the meeting and closed the meeting.