Islamabad, 15 March 2022 (TDI): The inaugural issue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Science Diplomacy Journal, ‘Science Diplomacy Perspectives,’ was launched in partnership with the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Collaboration (COMSTECH), on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary launches 1st issue of its #sciencediplomacy journal in collaboration with @OIC_COMSTECH. 17 articles covering diverse topics on emerging tech, #STEM popularization, intl sci collaborations by interdisciplinary contributors are included. @ForeignOfficePk pic.twitter.com/leutKmsmxa
— Science Diplomacy Pakistan (@SciDipPak) March 15, 2022
Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood delivered the keynote presentation. Emphasizing the need for science diplomacy in addressing global issues and closing the gap between innovation and policymaking, he stated that the Journal was created to give a venue for inter-disciplinary stakeholders such as scientists and diplomats to publish on science diplomacy-related topics.
Director General (Science Diplomacy) Muhammad Kamran Akhtar expressed his gratitude to the writers for their efforts and for taking on the task of reaching beyond traditional boundaries to provide creative and multi-sectoral perspectives.
Furthermore, the Journal will serve as a source of science advice on technology-related issues as well as thought leadership for the country’s science diplomacy activities.
Prof. Dr. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General COMSTECH, hailed the pioneering endeavor to establish a publication platform on the issue of scientific diplomacy in his remarks. He stated that COMSTECH was playing an important role in improving the status of science in the Muslim world as a scientific diplomacy platform.
The first edition of Scientific Diplomacy Views has 17 papers written by researchers, diplomats, and policymakers on a variety of cutting-edge topics and themes such as the scope and regulatory perspectives of new and emerging technologies, science popularization, and global science governance. The Ministry was helped with the editing and peer-reviewing process by COMSTECH and the Particle Team at LUMS.
Science Diplomacy Perspectives will be published on a regular basis and will serve as a permanent venue for academics and practitioners to contribute papers on science diplomacy topics.
About Science Diplomacy Initiative
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the Science Diplomacy (SD) Initiative with the designation of a Focal Point (Science Diplomacy Division) to act as a liaison between national science and technology (S&T) stakeholders and international partners, aware of the potential of science diplomacy to advance Pakistan’s national interests and participate effectively in the global science and technology ecosystem.
The first issue of the journal can be accessed here
