Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (Comstech) have launched Comstech Consortium of Excellence.

It has been conceived as a strategic convergence of leading universities of Pakistan and OIC in the fields of science and technology. Speaking at the inauguration, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood said Comstech Consortium of Excellence 'envisages creating inclusive global and regional partnerships in science, for constructing and partaking of an OIC knowledge economy'.

He further said this will showcase our collective scientific endeavors at the international stage, adding that it will help us in obtaining a greater share of the digital/high tech export market-globally, and particularly in Africa as the targeted market envisaged by the Consortium.

"COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence can play a pivotal role in boosting trade ties with African countries through its proposed Business Accelerator Program," he said.

In his inaugural address, Coordinator General, COMSTECH, Dr Iqbal Choudhry, said the purpose of this forum is to put efforts to achieve excellence in partnership.

He said Pakistan has done a lot in the area of science and technology. Chaudhry further said that Comstech Consortium of Excellence would bring technology to Pakistan and would help in the internationalization of the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.