COMSATS strengthen ties with Bulgaria through its embassy

ISLAMABAD:   (Parliament Times)   (PR)   Avenues of cooperation with Bulgaria in areas of mutual interest have been explored by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable development in the South
(COMSATS). Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, Executive Director COMSATS, made a courtesy call to
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Pakistan, H.E. Dr.
Aleksandar Borisov Parashkevov.
During the meeting held at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Islamabad, Dr. Zaidi briefed the newly
appointed Ambassador on COMSATS’ operations focused on bringing peace and development
in the Global South aided by interventions aimed at socio-economic development through
scientific tools and mechanisms. Towards this end, he informed that COMSATS has forged
partnerships globally and instituted programmes and projects in health, education, internet
services, climate change and sustainability.
With membership of 27 countries, COMSATS has completed its 25 years of successful
operations with wide array of programmes. These pertain to capacity-building, bilateral and
multilateral research, institution-building, international cooperation, scholarship programmes,
and expert exchange. The organization’s biggest introductions in the country are COMSATS
University Islamabad and COMSATS Internet Services, while similar projects have also been
initiated in other member states. A network of 22 Centres of Excellence in 20 member countries
is providing assistance and resources to COMSATS’ operations. They specialize in the fields of
Biotechnology & Biomedical Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Health and Medicine, Textile
Industry, Nanobiotechnology, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Information and Communication
Technology, Climate Change, Industrial Technologies, and Water Resources.
The matter of Bulgaria’s possible accession to COMSATS was discussed during the meeting.
The Bulgarian Ambassador assured of his support for expediting the membership process. Dr.
Parashkevov expressed interest in collaborating with COMSATS’ Network for expert-
exchanges, faculty development, training and capacity building of scientific workforce.

The meeting ended on a cordial note with the invitation to the Honourable Ambassador to visit
COMSATS Secretariat and its Centre of Excellence in Islamabad — COMSATS University
Islamabad (CU), for furthering cooperation ties which was accepted