President-designate of the ECO Science Foundation visits ECO Secretariat

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The President-designate of the ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF), Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro, called on the Secretary-General on March 13, 2012. He also held a meeting with the Deputy-Secretary General (T&I/AIT/IR).

The two sides discussed matters concerning implementation of the decisions of the 1st Board of Trustees (BoT) Meeting of the Foundation which was held in Islamabad in December, 2011. The President-designate briefed the Secretary-General on the follow-up actions initiated in this regard. It was mentioned that in line with the directive of the BoT, efforts were afoot to organize a Regional Conference on Science & Technology in Pakistan tentatively in September 2011. Dr. Soomro requested the Secretary-General for Secretariat's support and assistance towards success of the Conference.

H.E Mr. M. Yahya Maroofi appreciated the efforts of the President-designate to expedite implementation of the decisions of the BoT Meeting and emphasized the need for the Foundation to launch appropriate projects and programmes for the promotion of Science & Technology in the region at the earliest. The Secretary-General was of the view that establishment of the Science Foundation constituted a landmark achievement of ECO which would make significant contributions to foster further regional integration among the ECO family.

Highlighting the potential of cooperation in the field of Science & Technology among the member States, the Secretary-General expressed the hope that the Foundation would serve as an effective vehicle to harness this regional potential by pooling scientific resources, expertise and knowledge for collective benefit of the peoples of the region. Mr. Maroofi encouraged the President-designate to organize a seminar to enhance visibility of the Foundation and familiarize the Member States with its functions and goals, before the Regional Conference to be held in Pakistan. In this regard, the Secretary-General offered assistance to organize the proposed seminar in Tehran in May/June and asked the President-designate to forward a detailed proposal. The Secretary-General also invited the President-designate to the Council of Permanent Representative (CPR) to brief the Ambassadors on the future plans and activities of the Foundation. Exact dates would be worked out shortly. In his concluding remarks, the Secretary-General assured Dr. Soomro of Secretariat's continued support for the Foundation.

During the meeting between the President-designate and the DSG, issues regarding the Regional Conference and the proposed seminar as well as proposals for developing a long-term Plan of Action of the Foundation were discussed in detail.