The 5th High Council Meeting (HCM) of the D-8 Technology Transfer and Exchange Network (D-8 TTEN) was hosted virtually by the Ministry of Industries and Production of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 22nd December, 2020.

It was attended by officials of the Engineering Development Board of the Ministry of Industries and Production of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Secretary-General and officials of the D-8 Secretariat, officials of the D-8 TTEN Secretariat based in the Islamic Republic of Iran and representatives and focal persons of the relevant institution of the D-8 Member States.

The meeting started with the opening statement of the Chairman/CEO of the Engineering Development Board of the Ministry of Industries and Production of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Raza Abbas Shah and opening remarks of the D-8 Secretary-General, His Excellency Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari. The progress report on activities of the D-8 TTEN Secretariat was also presented by the Deputy Secretary General of the D-8 TTEN Secretariat, Mr. Milad Sadr.

In his statement, Mr. Shah expressed the desire of the Engineering Development Board of the Ministry of Industries and Production to collaborate with the relevant bodies and institutions of the D-8 Member States in order to share knowledge and exchange experiences in the domain of science, technology and engineering.

The D-8 Secretary-General, in his remarks, emphasized the pivotal importance of science, technology and engineering in the activities of the D-8 Organization as the main source of future economic growth with the integration of the new and emerging technologies. He also mentioned that cooperation between and among the affiliated bodies of the D-8 and relevant institutions of the D-8 Member States in science and technology will help in expanding the number and improving the quality of research as well as scaling up the conduct of research and innovation and promote industrial development in D-8 Countries. Furthermore, the Secretary-General opined that D-8 Member States should complement one other and promote collaboration since they are at different levels of development and possess different competitive elements.

The meeting continued with the review of the decisions of the previous meetings and statements of the representatives of the D-8 Member States and country reports regarding the activities of science, technology and research. The representatives of the D-8 Member States briefed the meeting regarding developments and success stories recorded by their respective countries in technology and science sectors.

The participants also agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation in joint research and experience sharing among relevant ministries, institutions and corporate bodies of the D-8 Member States regarding the activities in science, technology and research.

The meeting ended with the closing remarks delivered by the D-8 Secretary-General and the representatives of the Engineering Development Board of the Ministry of Industries and Production of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The D-8 Technology Transfer and Exchange Network (D-8 TTEN) is an international network established to develop technology cooperation among D-8 Member States.