Ghana to host COMSATS meeting (January 21, 2015) pg 33




The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) yesterday inaugurated a planning committee for the ministerial meeting of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), to be hosted in Ghana in April 2015.

The members of the committee, chaired by a Minister of State, Mr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, were drawn from institutions including the Office of the President, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Ghana Immigration Service, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), MESTI, State Protocol and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Functions of COMSATS
 
Currently, President John Dramani Mahama chairs the 21-member organisation which facilitates the exchange of experts among member countries, aimed at building the critical mass of scientists, engineers and technicians needed for accelerating the socio-economic development of member countries.

The COMSATS’ panel of experts on science, technology and innovation also provides consultancy and support to member states in the formulation or review of their national policies that relate to scientific research and innovation.

Over the years, COMSATS has been undertaking well-defined joint research projects in different thematic areas in which research scientists from institutions in COMSATS member-countries participate.

Among COMSATS’ ongoing projects are the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), COMSATS Internet Services (CIS), COMSATS Tele-Health Services and the Islamic-World Science Net (IWSN) Web-portal.

The Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, who inaugurated the committee, said the government recognised that science, technology and innovation were drivers of economic prosperity and social development. 

He therefore urged members of the committee to work hard to make the upcoming meeting a success.

Committee will deliver
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Pelpuo, promised that the committee would live up to expectation, stressing that science and technology defined development.

“For Ghana to cross over from a lower middle-income country to a middle-income one and ultimately, to a developed country, we have to take science and technology seriously,” he said.

He pledged, “We will ensure that the country derives benefits from science and technology to expand the frontiers of the country’s development.” 

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