As a substantive follow-up to the recent high-level audience graciously accorded to the Executive Director COMSATS by H.E. Mr. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana and Honourable Chairperson of COMSATS, the delegation, under the leadership of Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director COMSATS, undertook a series of consequential meetings with Ghana’s designated Focal Point to COMSATS, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), as well as the country’s premier COMSATS Centre of Excellence, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
MEST was duly represented by H.E. Ms. Suweibatu Adam, Chief Director; Mr. Kwamena Esilfie Quaison, Director, STI Directorate; Mr. Cephas Adjei Mensah, Director, Research, Statistics and Information Management (RSIM) Directorate; Mr. Nashiru Salifu, Deputy Director, Science and Technology; and Ms. Judith Awosemabia. Other attendees included the Director-General of CSIR, Prof. Paul Pinnock Bosu, and Dr. Daniel Asenso-Gyambibi, Director of the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI). The COMSATS delegation comprised, in addition to Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director, Mr. Irfan Hayee, Director Programmes; Dr. Mehwish Durani, Director International Partner Organizations; and Dr. Huma Balouch, Additional Director Programmes.
During the engagements, the Executive Director of COMSATS expressed profound appreciation for the steadfast support and facilitation extended by MEST in enabling the delegation’s audience with the President of Ghana. He emphasized that this historic interaction successfully elicited the commitment of the Ghanaian Head of State, who directed MEST to work in close coordination with the COMSATS Secretariat on advancing the proposal for convening the 4th Summit-level Meeting of the Commission (Heads-of-State/Government) in Accra, Ghana, in 2026.
Dr. Zakaria underscored that the envisioned Summit would embody the highest level of political and scientific representation from COMSATS Member States, while also welcoming active participation from global multilateral bodies, including agencies of the United Nations system, subsidiary organizations of the OIC, as well as key regional and international development partners. Such an inclusive platform, he remarked, would serve to catalyze collaborative ventures across the Global South, enhance knowledge diplomacy, and position Ghana prominently as a nexus of South-South cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.
In furtherance of COMSATS’ mandate to extend science-and-technology-based solutions to its Member States, Dr. Zakaria apprised the Ghanaian counterparts of several transformative initiatives. These included the Codiskills Training Program Coding for Employment in line with Ghanaian Government Policy Initiative of One Million Coders’ to Empower Youth. Genomic Sequencing Programme for developing Precision Medicine capacity; Energy Backup for uninterrupted power supply to mitigate energy outages; and the sharing of indigenous Electric Vehicle (EV) technology. In this context, the Executive Director requested the Chief Director of MEST to kindly pursue follow-up on his formal invitation extended to the Honourable President of Ghana to inaugurate, either in person or virtually, the launch of COMSATS’ Nanotechnology Lab as well as the COMSATS’ Technology Partner Economia’s rollout of its EV products. These landmark achievements symbolize COMSATS’ commitment to cutting-edge innovation for sustainable development across the Global South.
The Executive Director further elaborated on COMSATS’ flagship undertakings aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). He highlighted the enduring impact of the COMSATS Telehealth (CTH) Programme, which continues to deliver critical primary and secondary health services to populations in difficult to reach terrains virtually at their doorstep using Telecomm Technology, and the growing recognition of the COMSATS Centre for Climate and Sustainability (CCCS), which has been recognised as a prominent voice for the Global South at the leading international climate fora.
On this occasion, the Executive Director presented CCCS’ latest publication “CCCS: Five Years of Impact (2020-2025) to Chief Director MEST and invited the Ministry to join hands in shaping collaborative initiatives on climate resilience and sustainability. The Chief Director of MEST graciously welcomed this overture and conveyed Ghana’s keen interest in partnering with COMSATS on co-hosting climate-related activities on the sidelines of forthcoming Conferences of the Parties (COP-30), particularly at the Ghana, or COMSATS Member States’ Pavilions.
The series of engagements reaffirmed COMSATS’ deepening collaboration with Ghana and underscored the strategic alignment between the country’s science and technology priorities and COMSATS’ overarching mission of advancing collective scientific capacity, technological innovation, and sustainable development across its Member States.
A visit was also undertaken to COMSATS’ Centre of Excellence in Ghana, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), where the delegation was warmly received by the Director-General, Prof. Paul Pinnock Bosu, together with senior officials, including Dr. Daniel Asenso-Gyambibi, Director of the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI), and Dr. Paul Asante Danquah, Director of CSIR-INSTI. Ambassador Dr. Zakaria commended CSIR’s rich legacy of scientific research and industrial innovation, noting its pioneering contributions to Ghana’s socio-economic development. Prof. Bosu, while extending warm hospitality, articulated CSIR’s eagerness to broaden collaboration with COMSATS, particularly in the domains of food security and climate-smart agriculture, as well as in frontier areas such as cybersecurity and information technology, which constitute priority fields within COMSATS’ strategic agenda.
In this connection, the Executive Director invited CSIR to provide comprehensive information on its innovative scientific products and services, so that these could be incorporated into COMSATS’ Catalogue of Scientific Products of its Network of Centres of Excellence, thereby facilitating cross-border technology diffusion and knowledge-sharing among Member States. The delegation further encouraged CSIR to enhance its active participation in COMSATS’ inter-regional programmes and to benefit from the diverse opportunities available through the Network. These include prestigious fellowships such as the President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), the CAS-ANSO Fellowship Programme, and the CAS-TWAS Fellowships offered at COMSATS Centres of Excellence in China, including the International Centre for Climate and Environmental Sciences (ICCES) and the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB). The delegation also highlighted the availability of fully funded graduate and postgraduate scholarships at COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), the Organization’s Centre of Excellence in Pakistan.
