The 22nd meeting of the COMSATS Coordination Council was held in Tianjin, China from April 16 to 18, 2019

The 22nd meeting of the COMSATS Coordination Council was held in Tianjin, China from April 16 to 18, 2019

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is the only university of the CIS that has become a member of the authoritative international intergovernmental organization COMSATS (Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South).

The 22nd meeting of the COMSATS Coordination Council was held in Tianjin from April 16 to 18, 2019. The meeting hosted by the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB) of the CAS at one of the recently added centers of excellence. About 40 well-known foreign experts, scientists and heads of research centers and universities of the participating countries «COMSATS», as well as representatives of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) attended the meeting. In addition, this year the representatives of the international organizations TWAS and UNESCO and the representative of the diplomatic mission of Pakistan in China also attended the meeting as observers.

Vice-Rector of the KazNU Prof. Ramazanov T.S. made a presentation about the activities of the university related to South-South & Triangular Cooperation for 2018, including continued interaction and cooperation with other centers of excellence, as well as plans for the future of the COMSAT network.

The progress reports of the international thematic research groups of COMSATS were also distributed by the respective leading centers. Representatives of TWAS and UNESCO also made presentations in which they spoke about current programs and activities, as well as opportunities for support and cooperation with COMSATS.

On the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030, Goal 14 defines climate change as “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and expresses concern that its negative effects may undermine the ability of countries to achieve sustainable development. Prof. Lin, director of the International Center for Climate and Environment Sciences (ICCES) in his report highlighted the possibilities of cooperation in training specialists and continuing their further education, and conducting research projects at the Center as part of the CAS, PIFI, and UCAS scholarship programs.

The key decision taken at the meeting was the appointment of Professor Dr. Ashraf Shaalan (Egypt) as an honorary life member of the Coordination Council and his re-election as Chairman of the Coordination Council for a new three-year term (2019-2022).

The Council also noted with satisfaction the progress achieved in the establish of the COMSATS Center for Climate and Sustainability (CCCS), which was opened in 11 of the 22 centers of excellence.

On November 9, 2018 approval was accorded to establish COMSATS Centre for Climate and Sustainability (CCCS) in Kazakhstan at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. On the speech of the Shokparova D.K. were presented the center’s establishment stages, the possibility of cooperation and knowledge sharing with other centers. The website of the center, the main research areas approved the goals and objectives of the center was presented.

The issues of an additional allocation of 100 scholarships for students, for the passage of education and training in the centers of excellence PhD doctoral students, post-doctoral grants for research, as through COMSAT and through other international organizations. The meeting issued a communiqué, in which, in particular, welcomed the Republic of Yemen as the 27th member state of COMSATS.

The participants in Council meetings visited the TIB laboratories in the morning of April 18, 2019. Organized in 2012, the Tianjin Industrial Biotechnology Institute (TIB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a non-profit national research institute jointly established by CAS and the Tianjin Municipal Government. This organization is one of the leading organizations in bioengineering and biotechnology.

In this regard, Professor Jibin Sun presented laboratories and facilities, which include 4 research divisions. TIB professors presented the stages of TIB work on the sustainable development of China. Visitors showed great interest in technologies and products developed by TIB, and exchanged views with the scientists of the institute.

To date, TIB has implemented more than 400 research projects sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the National Natural Science Foundation of China, CAS, the Tianjin Municipality, and other funding agencies or industries.

It was decided that the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in Karachi, Pakistan would host the next 23rd meeting of the Coordination Council.

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