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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today (Thursday) called for a coordinated scientific response in dealing with global challenges such as climate change, poverty reduction and food security.
The foreign minister, in his inaugural address at Virtual Start-up Summit held by the foreign ministry and Pakistan Embassy in Washington, said the COVID-19 pandemic was an ideal case study of how science and technology could be leveraged in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.
“Several challenges faced by humanity today, such as climate change, food security, poverty reduction, and economic disparities have scientific dimensions. This warrants a coordinated scientific response,” Qureshi believed.
The foreign minister pointed out that the government was giving special attention to addressing the issues like poverty, food security, malnutrition and climate change.
He further said it was in the best interest of the country to support innovation and lead the global effort in tackling resource security. “Pakistani diaspora in the US had been doing a commendable job in contributing to US’ knowledge economy” he added.
He also appreciated the efforts that the Pakistani community in the US was connecting with the knowledge economy of Pakistan. “We want enhancement of this connectivity for sustainable linkages,” he added.
Qureshi told the participants that the event was the first in a series of region-specific summits which would enable Pakistan to benefit from the expertise of its innovators and enable its Missions abroad to effectively execute science diplomacy-related initiatives.
