US, Pak agree to extend sci-tech co-op agreement for 5 years

The US and Pakistan have agreed to extend their science and technology agreement for another five years, an official announcement has said.
An agreement in this regard would be signed today between the Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and State Department Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) Dr Kerri-Ann Jones.
"Over the past decade, this agreement has provided a framework to strengthen scientific, technological, and engineering capabilities for both our countries; to broaden and expand relations between the extensive scientific and technological communities in both the United States and Pakistan; and to promote cooperation in areas of mutual benefit," the State Department said yesterday.

Since 2003, when the Science and Technology Agreement was launched, the two governments have jointly-funded nearly USD 30 million worth of collaborative research projects through the US-Pakistan Science and Technology Cooperation Program.
In total, 83 research projects have been supported in a range of scientific areas, including food security, public health, Earth sciences, disaster management, engineering, water, and energy, it said.
Jilani and Jones will be joined by Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy John P Holdren along with the State Department Principal Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dan Feldman.