COMSATS and ANSO contributing to South-South Cooperation.

AS THE process of developing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development started, the world was increasingly conscious of the need to develop new and innovative cooperation modalities.

This brought a new impetus to the developing countries in the South to increase the depth and breadth of their cooperation to address common socio-economic and development challenges, such as Global health, climate change, food security, good governance, etc.

Over the past three decades, the importance of South-South and triangular cooperation has been particularly highlighted by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS).

As stated in the Foundation document establishing the Commission in 1994, its basic purpose is to 'provide leadership and support for major South-South and North-South cooperative schemes in education, training, and research' to its member states.

Utilizing South-South cooperation as a mechanism to improve member countries' capacities to better deal with the global challenges and to join the knowledge and resources in the South in a more collective and effective manner, COMSATS encourages the Governments, development agencies, research institutions, private sector, and civil society in developing countries to collaborate, combine their efforts and expertise and to form necessary partnerships to promote science-based solutions for common development.

COMSATS perennial ties with one of its member country, China, for strengthening international research collaboration has expanded with COMSATS accession to the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) in November 2019.

With determination to progress on the leave no one behind agenda in the context of global development in its three dimensions - economic, social, and environmental, thirty-seven national and regional scientific organizations and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as leading and founding member, agreed in November 2018 to establish a long-term effective and multilateral cooperation mechanism, the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO).

ANSO facilitates ST and I cooperation among countries in the Belt and Road region around their shared challenges and concerns to achieve inclusive and sustainable development.

Within these few years, ANSO has made important strides in facilitating collaborative priority-setting for innovation and research cooperation in cross-cutting fields, policy and strategic advice...