President Mamnoon Hussain arrived in Astana as a leader of Pakistani delegation during the OIC Summit on Science and Technology.

The President made two statements; one as a Chairman of COMSTECH and other on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. In his remarks, he stressed on the need to advance creative thinking in the Muslim World and proposed concrete measures to achieve this objectively. He emphasized that Muslim Countries must harness the potential of Science and technology for gainful employment, human capital development and inclusive growth.

The President made these remarks at the time of adoption of OIC STI Agenda 2026, which is a blueprint of a mechanism devised to build collective competence in a wide array of themes such as food, water, energy, applied sciences, and large multinational projects.

The President stressed that the focus on high technology was necessary for Muslim countries to gain advancement in education, science and economy, which were lagging behind other fast developing nations.

The adoption of 2026 document and Astana Declaration is the result of Pakistan’s efforts for the last two years as the Chair of COMSTECH to use science and technology to eradicate poverty and bring forth creative and innovative strengths as one of the principle ways of accelerating the economic development of developing countries.

These documents acknowledge the contribution made by COMSTECH in promoting intra-OIC cooperation in the field of science and technology.

The Country Statement delivered at the First Working Session in the afternoon, the President, as part of cooperation with OIC countries, offered 100 scholarships in field of engineering, medical and agriculture, training of technicians, training in the peaceful application of nuclear techniques in agriculture, cancer treatment in accordance with IAEA guidelines, help in establishing Plant Gene Banks and the introduction of Genetically Modified Crops as well as placement of researchers under the Ibn Al Haitham Programme.