The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) had the distinct privilege of receiving a high-level delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran at its Secretariat in Islamabad on 18th April 2025. The visit coincided with the presence of the Iranian delegation in Pakistan for the prestigious International Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I), jointly convened by the ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.

The esteemed Iranian delegation comprised eminent scholars and senior officials from leading Iranian scientific and technological institutions: Prof. Ali Moosavi Movahedi, Professor of Biophysics and Director, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran; Prof. Dr. Syed Ali Akbar Safavi, Professor of Systems and Control Engineering, Shiraz University; Mr. Reza Aslani, Head of International Affairs, Pardis Technology Park; Dr. Maryam Tajabadi Ebrahimi, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Takgene Zist Group; and Prof. Abbas Rajabi, Director, Sharif Energy Research Institute, Sharif University of Technology. The delegation was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Komail Tayebi, President of the ECO Science Foundation, who played a key facilitative role in fostering multilateral academic cooperation.

The Executive Director of COMSATS extended a warm and cordial welcome to the visiting dignitaries and presented a comprehensive overview of the organization’s overarching mandate, governance framework, flagship initiatives, and collaborative programmes aimed at promoting South-South cooperation in science and technology. Senior officers from COMSATS’ Programmes and CCCS/IPOs departments also participated in the deliberations.

During the briefing, particular emphasis was placed on the recent establishment of a cutting-edge Nanotechnology Laboratory at the COMSATS Secretariat, an initiative that captured the delegation’s interest as a promising platform for collaborative research and innovation.

In addition, the delegation was apprised of two key upcoming capacity-building activities being organized by COMSATS:

• A Training Workshop on Strengthening R&D–SME Linkages, and
• A Training Workshop on Quantum Sciences, to be convened on the sidelines of the 17th General Conference of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

The Iranian delegates expressed interest for these forthcoming initiatives and conveyed their intent to contribute substantively by nominating eminent resource persons and facilitating institutional linkages from the Iranian scientific community.

This high-level engagement underscored the mutual aspiration of COMSATS and Iranian academic institutions to deepen strategic cooperation in science, technology, and innovation, thereby contributing to regional progress and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).