TEHRAN – A joint science and technology park will be established by Iran and Pakistan in Chabahar County, southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, science minister Mohammad-Ali Zolfigol, has said.

Zolfigol met Mukhtar Ahmed, chairman of Pakistan's higher education commission, in Tehran today, discussing ways to enhance scientific cooperation.

There are no limitations to the expansion of relations between the two friendly countries of Iran and Pakistan in various fields of science, technology, and innovation. Both countries welcome the development of relations, IRNA quoted Zolfigol as saying.

“We are ready to attract students from Pakistan and send interested Iranian students to Pakistan for study and research opportunities.

Also, carrying out joint research and technology projects, joint production of scientific articles and books, patenting and establishing knowledge-based companies are among other areas of cooperation,” he added.

He went on to say that Iran supports the promotion of Persian language in Pakistan and Urdu language in Iran.

Tehran, Islamabad to boost scientific co-op

In a meeting in Tehran on January 15, Iran and Pakistan, while expressing willingness to expand cooperation, highlighted the importance of enhancing scientific relations.

A delegation of Pakistani academic members headed by Ahmed visited Iran's House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) on Monday.

“Iran is ready to cooperate with Pakistan in technological fields. Information and communication technology, agriculture, and health are among the fields in which the two countries can boost cooperation,” ISNA quoted Amir-Hossein Mir-Abadi, an official with the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, as saying.

Ahmed, for his part, said that Iran and Pakistan are confronting similar problems and challenges; these common issues can lay the basis for boosting mutual relations and cooperation. “Pakistan is interested in cooperating and interacting with Iran in scientific and technological fields.”

The Pakistani official went on to say that the sanctions have made Iran more successful in scientific fields.

Exchanging academic staff including professors and students and conducting joint projects can be among other options of cooperation between Iran and Pakistan, he added.

Talking about setting up national pavilions in different countries, Ahmed said Pakistan is ready to hold Iranian pavilions, too.

He hoped that the bilateral cooperation would be extended into regional cooperation including other countries such as India and Bangladesh.

Sharing technological expertise with Islamic nations

In May 2023, the deputy science minister said Iran is ready to share its technological expertise with other Islamic countries.

Science and technology should be applied in order to create world peace and human justice, and Muslim countries can bring peace and progress not only to the Muslim nations but also to human beings with unity and empathy, Vahid Haddadi-Asl said, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks at the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dialogue Platform (OIC-15) which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 25-26.

“Over the past years, despite the cruel sanctions imposed by the global arrogance against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have seen significant progress in the fields of education, research, and technology, which is a sign of reliance on Iranian scholars and scientists. We are always ready to share our technological expertise with other Islamic countries.”

MT/MG