ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi said on Tuesday Pakistan should rely on latest technology to enhance agricultural production and mitigate the impact of climate change, as he urged leading Muslim countries to encourage their people to use technology in all spheres of life to ensure success.
Alvi made these observations while addressing a youth forum on biotechnology which was organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) in Islamabad.
COMSTECH was launched in 1981 during the Islamic Summit of Makkah. It is headquartered in Pakistan and seeks to enhance the scientific capacity of OIC member countries.
“Pakistan needs to adopt the latest technology to enhance agricultural production and will have to work on food security while keeping in view the problem of climate change,” the president said, adding that his country’s production of food grain was not as much as other agricultural states.
He urged the Muslim world to change the mindset of its people to benefit from different technological developments.
“Those who are ahead among the OIC states should come forward and provide leadership for changing attitude toward the adoptation of new technologies to achieve success in all spheres of life,” Alvi continued.
“COMSTECH should ensure prompt adoptation of emerging technologies in the OIC region,” he added.
Coordinator General COMSTECH Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary said the forum could help address the challenge of food security.
“Through the use of new technologies and better management, we can tackle the issue of food security faced by OIC states,” he said. “Agricultural biotechnology can help produce enough grain to feed the hungry.”
Sami Serdar of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum, another organization that helped arrange the event, said technology was important to improve the quality of human life, adding that biotechnology could also help address global issues.
“We are here for the youth that wants a big change for the better future and needs a united effort with solid continued commitment,” he said.
The inaugural session of the three-day forum was attended by national and international scholars, scientists and diplomats of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Somalia, Qatar, Iraq, and Uzbekistan.
