TEHRAN – Pakistan called for the establishment of a joint research institute in nanotechnology and biotechnology during a meeting held at Iran’s Nanotechnology Development Headquarters on Friday.
Pakistan’s University of Lahore President Awis Raoof and Nanotechnology Innovation Council International Affairs Director Mohammad Bakeri Motlak discussed the possibility of developing cooperation between the two countries, ISNA reported.
Pakistani officials have expressed interest in setting up a nanotechnology centre at the University of Lahore.
Meanwhile, Bagheri Motlak presented a report on Iran’s nanotechnology progress and achievements, focusing on educational activities and joint scientific cooperation.
The official also proposed conducting joint research, publishing joint scientific papers in Iranian journals, and holding workshops, training courses and scientific conferences.
He further proposed signing a memorandum of understanding, which Raouf welcomed.
Raoof, who inspected Iranian nanotechnology products, stressed that Pakistan is primarily interested in cooperation in the fields of nanomedicine and military affairs.
Expanding scientific connections
“The main challenges in the development of relations between Islamabad and Tehran have been overcome and the two countries are ready to strengthen cooperation in the fields of higher education, science and technology,” the chairman of Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission said.
A Pakistani academic delegation led by Mukhtar Ahmed visited Iran’s House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) on January 15, Iran News Agency reported.
Iran and Pakistan expressed their willingness to expand cooperation and stressed the importance of strengthening scientific ties.
“Iran is ready to cooperate with Pakistan in the technological field. Information and communication technology, agriculture and health are some of the areas where the two countries can strengthen cooperation,” Amir Hossein Mir Abadi, director of the Office of the Vice President for Science and Technology, said during his meeting with Mukhtar Ahmed, ISNA reported.
Meanwhile, Ahmed said Iran and Pakistan face similar issues and challenges and these common challenges could be the basis for strengthening mutual relations and cooperation. “Pakistan is interested in cooperating and interacting with Iran in the field of science and technology,” he said.
Pakistani officials further said the sanctions had made Iran more successful in the scientific field.
Exchange of academic staff, including professors and students, and carrying out joint projects could also be an option for cooperation between Iran and Pakistan, he added.
Regarding setting up of national pavilions in different countries, Ahmed said Pakistan is ready to host Iranian pavilion as well.
He hopes that bilateral cooperation will be expanded to regional cooperation to include other countries such as India and Bangladesh.
Nanotech Products
One of the industries that has experienced strong growth in Iran in recent years and is testament to the country’s scientific development is the nanotechnology industry, which has propelled Iran to fourth place in the world.
Nanotech products are exported to countries on five continents.
Around 358 companies are operating in the nanotechnology sector in the country, with 1,608 products and equipment having nanotechnology certification.
Iran’s total sales of nano products in the past year (through March 20) was worth 115 trillion rials (about $425 million).
The expansion of nanotechnology export programs in recent years and the establishment of export hubs for nanotechnology products to China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Turkey and Iraq have created opportunities for Iranian nanotechnology products, equipment and services to enter global markets.
About 42 percent of the products in this sector are construction-related, more than 17 percent are oil, gas and petrochemical-related, 13 percent are automotive-related, and more than 10 percent are optoelectronics-related.
In June 2023, Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Satari announced that “around 270 companies are active in the nanotechnology sector, with revenues expected to reach 80 trillion rials (around $310 million).”
According to StatNano statistics collected from the WoS database, Iran’s nanotechnology paper citation ranking in 2019 improved significantly, rising 26 places compared to 2018.
Iran ranked 38th in the world in terms of the average number of citations of nano articles in the Journal Citation Reports in 2019, compared with 64th in 2018, according to the Nanotechnology Publishing Report.
It also ranked fourth in the number of nano papers published.
MT/MG
