Recognizing the importance of skilled manpower and entrepreneurship for strengthening the economy & society, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) have agreed to collaborate for the establishment of a Technical Business Incubation Center in ICCI. The facility would focus on promoting entrepreneurship in university graduates and skills development in under privileged youth for making them productive citizens. This consensus was developed during the visit of a delegation of MoST led by its Advisor Dr. Syed Shahid Hussain to ICCI. 
 

Speaking at the occasion, Shaban Khalid, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) appreciated the interest of MoST to support ICCI in Technical Business Incubation Center and hoped that establishment of this Center will help significantly in promoting entrepreneurship in youth and skills development in under privileged class enabling them to carve out a better career for themselves as well as contribute positively to the economic development of the country.
 

He said Pakistan normally exports low value industrial products and MoST & its R&D organizations have a crucial role for improving the competitiveness of industry for producing the value added industrial products to enhance their exports. He said Chamber and MoST should develop close collaboration for promoting linkages between industry and R&D organizations to improve the industrial efficiency and development. 
 

He said only with joint efforts of industries on ground and identification of industry problems, coupled with relevant research for onward development of pilot models will help transform these pilot models into scalable and commercially viable solutions. Such homegrown and indigenous solutions can put our industry on sustainable path of development.  
 

Dr. Syed Shahid Hussain, Advisor, MoST highlighted the initiatives of R&D organizations to facilitate the industry. He said MoST has set up a Commercialization Cell to link industry with R&D organizations and academia in order to carry out demand driven R&D activities, resolve industrial problems and indigenize technologies & products. He stressed upon the need of continuous working relationship between ICCI and MoST for strengthening industry with R&D activities and for manufacturing value added industrial products. 
 

Dr. Shahzad Alam, Director General, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research informed that PCSIR has developed Coal Water Slurry as a cheap energy solution as it could be used in coal gasifiers as a substitute of furnace oil. He invited ICCI delegation to visit PCSIR Lahore to see the potential of this energy solution, especially for steel industry. Mr. Ahmed Nadeem Siddiqui, Project Director National Institute of Electronics and Engr. Waseem Ahmed of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority also briefed the industrialists on improving industrial efficiency and development in collaboration with R&D organizations.
 

The local industrialists showed keen interest in benefitting from the various facilities and technologies of R&D organizations of MoST for improving the quality and standard of industrial products.