ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador David Hale and Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to double the funding for the Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Programme.

The MoU would provide more than $8 million in joint funding for high-level collaborative research in science and technology with a new focus on health and other fields such as water, energy, and information technology.

While talking to the press, Ambassador Hale said, “The benefits in developing our education, knowledge, skills, and human capacity are immeasurable.” The increase in funding from both the United States and Pakistan demonstrates the level of importance we both place on investing in science and technology, he added.

HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said, “Pakistan and the United States have had a long history of partnership in education and research and this agreement shows our commitment to continue the partnership for many years to come.” Pakistani researchers are making significant contributions to the scientific community both nationally and internationally, Dr Mukhtar added.

Since the programme’s inception in 2005, the United States and Pakistan had jointly funded nearly $34 million in collaborative research supporting 96 projects conducted by scientists and researchers from both nations working in collaboration. Each year, researchers, scholars and scientists from the United States and Pakistan propose subjects for research and are selected for funding through a competitive process. Previous grantees have focused on diverse topics including food security, public health, disaster management, engineering, water, energy and information technology.

The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State are the joint contributors for this phase of the programme. The MoU is highlighted as a key area of cooperation laid in the meeting of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October 2015. The programme’s increased emphasis on health research fortifies the bilateral commitment to implementing the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) that is an international initiative to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats