Islamabad: Three-day `Pakistan-Turkey-Kazakhstan Youth Forum on Biotechnology’ will be arranged in September with emphasis on increasing the share of Muslim countries in biotechnology global market.

The forum, to be held from September 13-15, is being sponsored by COMSTECH-the OIC Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) and Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), an official said. 

The global biotechnology market is anticipated to reach a market value of US$ 775 billion by 2024 with an annual growth rate of 7.7%. Increased spending in biotechnology research and development, favourable initiatives by governments, global food security and the increasing need for emerging technologies are some of the factors influencing this growth.

Unfortunately, the share of Muslim countries in this global market of biotechnology is very little which needs to be increased.

This proposed tripartite youth forum (Pakistan-Turkey-Kazakhstan) will help promote excellence and competence in the field of agricultural biotechnology among Muslim countries.

The theme of the forum “Agriculture Biotechnology” aims at providing the best knowledge and resources to young participants to advance their research goals, the official informed.

The youth forum will stimulate the desire to collaborate and change the world of agricultural biotechnology and innovation by promoting state-of-the-art practices in biotechnology research and promoting evidence-based practices.

The event will include informative talks from young as well as the experienced scientists of the three countries.

The event will also include keynote lectures, plenary sessions, oral and poster presentations, discussions and other educational and social events that stimulate several networking opportunities among the young participants of Pakistan, Turkey and Kazakhstan.

The official highlighted that the forum aims to facilitate interactions within the young research community to discuss the latest developments in this rapidly advancing field and find ways to respond to the increasing demands of professionals and communities across the world.

The academics, students and researchers from the OIC countries may apply, while only participants from Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Turkey are eligible for the limited funding available for travel and local hospitality.

This youth forum is planned to be a hybrid event (Physical and virtual), while candidates are required to give their preference in the form.

The participants from all the member OIC states, who can bear their travel expenses may register for the forum and get ticket funding from their parent organizations.

The topics to be covered during the forum include Genome editing and new breeding technologies, large scale genomics and genomic selection in crop and livestock breeding, speed breeding for rapid genetic gain, variants of Cas proteins and their potential applications and high throughput phenomics.

SOURCE: APP

Davos: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday emphasized that Pakistan and Iran should tap the existing vast scope in bilateral trade and economic cooperation through various institutional mechanisms and innovative ways to identify new sectors.

The foreign minister, in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to strengthen Pak-Iran fraternal ties in all areas of mutual interest.

He underscored the importance of the earliest completion of border markets to improve livelihood in the border region.

The foreign minister appreciated Iran’s steadfast support for the Kashmir cause, especially at the Supreme Leader level.

Foreign Minister Bilawal also thanked Foreign Minister Abdollahian for sending an Iranian aircraft to Pakistan which helped in extinguishing the forest fire in Balochistan.

In the context of the situation in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari noted that as neighbours, Pakistan and Iran had been closely coordinating.

He underlined that sustained engagement between the international community and the Interim Afghan government was critical to advance shared objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Abdollahian extended an invitation to the foreign minister to undertake a visit to Iran.

SOURCE: APP

Islamabad: The Islamabad police Thursday booked senior PTI leaders including chairman Imran Khan in a case for the riots that ocurred in the federal capital during the “Azadi March” on Wednesday.

Police also registered cases against PTI leaders Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Ali Nawaz Awan.

The police registered two separate cases at the Kohsar Police Station for "rioting and arson".

The first FIR was registered at the complaint of a sub-inspector (SI) named Asif Raza, while the second one was filed on behalf of SI Ghulam Sarwar. 

The cases have been registered against 150 people out of which 39 have been arrested. They also mention the burning of the metro bus stations at Islamabad's Jinnah Avenue, damaging a government vehicle at the Express Chowk, and breaking the glass windows of Geo News and Jang office.