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China's Int'l Science Organizations Alliance Provide Opportunities For Pakistani Scientists

2018-11-07

A Belt and Road international science organisations alliance launch in Beijing with the aim of tackling major scientific challenges such as climate change.

The Alliance of International Science Organizations in the Belt and Road Region, (ANSO), was initiated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). ANSO, which is non-profit and non-governmental, will include more than 40 national, regional and international scientific and research institutions.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences will enhance science cooperation and services to support countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative in global common issues, said Bai Chunli, the academy's president, Measures will include expanding joint research and consultation services related to major scientific challenges, such as tackling climate change, natural disasters, health and other issues, Bai Chunli said.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road in scientific research on environmental and climate change, biodiversity and epidemics and infectious diseases, Bai Chunli was quoted as saying by China Daily.

The alliance will help further improve exchanges and coordination for all the existing cooperative science projects in the Belt and Road countries, Bai said.

Some examples of fruitful science cooperation include Chinese scientists partnering with peers from Pakistan and Sri Lanka to improve their natural disaster response and mitigation capabilities.

Bai also listed the construction of Gwadar port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as an example of close scientific cooperation.

The sea area near the port undergoes an earthquake every 50 years on average. The CAS, experienced in related research, worked with local researchers and discovered many submarine landslides, which helped them develop a submarine earthquake and tsunami simulation platform, enhancing the port's ability to prevent and control risks and speeding up construction, Bai said.

Pakistan is going to benefit from the alliance because it will provide opportunities for Pakistani scientists to communicate and learn from their counterparts from China, Russia and other countries along the Belt and Road, said Mohammad Qasim Jan, president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences.

"The alliance will improve communications between the nations, and I firmly believe that good communication leads to good relations," Jan said.

Prof. Dr. M. Qasim Jan said the assembly was a wonderful initiative that pulled human expertise from diverse backgrounds to address global problems that can be minimized by good science.

He further said his country has been a major beneficiary of the BRI and hopes to continue science cooperation with China in the geosciences, satellite imaging, marine studies and other scientific fields.

The CAS has built nine overseas science and education centers and carried out more than 100 scientific collaborative projects conducting research on the environment, resources, biodiversity, health and new drugs with countries and regions along the Belt and Road since 2013. (UrduPoint Network)

(Editor: LIU Jia)