KARACHI -  International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state’s Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources (SKLCMEMR), Guangxi Normal University, China.

Both the institutions of China and Pakistan aim to make joint efforts for the establishment of Sino-Pakistan Joint International Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources (abbreviated as Sino-Pakistan Joint International Laboratory) at the ICCBS.

The MoU was signed at a special ceremony held at Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi on Monday.

In the ceremony, President Guangxi Normal University Prof Dr He Zu-Bin, Director of SKLCMEMR Prof. Dr. Liang Hong, and Director ICCBS-UoK Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary signed the agreement on behalf of their institutions. Other officials of both the institutions were also present on the occasion.  

Prof He Zu-Bin, introducing his institutions, said that Guangxi Normal University was founded in 1932. Now the University has become an international hub of academic excellence and multi-cultural cooperation and relationships, he said. GXNU currently offers a variety of programs and degrees for students of all levels and nationalities, and our academic programs cover at least twelve different branches of learning, he maintained.

He said that his university has already set Rs.10 million aside on account of the international laboratory.

Prof Iqbal Choudhary said that this MoU was signed to promote scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries. He said that ICCBS – University of Karachi was one of the country’s most eminent centers of excellence. This international center is considered the top one of the finest academic research establishments of chemical and biological sciences in the developing world, he maintained. He said that ICCBS was the only institution in Pakistan which was not only certified by ISO but it also became ‘UNESCO Centre for Excellence Category-2 Institute’.

In the end, the Chinese delegation visited the various state-of-the art laboratories setup in the Jamil-ur- Rahman Center for Genome Research, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, and Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research.

According to MoU, both the parties will endeavor to encourage, promote, and facilitate the collaboration between both the institutions. Scholars of the ICCBS will also be taught Chinese language.

 In particular, the parties have agreed to develop their collaborative work by facilitating exchanges of academic staff and students, hosting the other Party’s academic staff and students as departmental visitors.

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