New Delhi: India and Nepal have deepened their ties with a new science and tech partnership, the Ministry of Science & Technology announced on Wednesday.
In a bid to establish a broad framework to promote bilateral scientific and technological collaboration, the country’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
“CSIR has a keen interest in strengthening its technology and capacity-building partnerships with Nepal through NAST,” said Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, DG, CSIR.
“There is an enormous untapped potential for collaboration in multiple sectors and stressed the importance of swiftly putting the MoU into action with a targeted implementation plan,” she added.
The MoU seeks to rejuvenate and expand the collaboration between CSIR and NAST that dates back to 1994. In 1994, an agreement was signed between CSIR and then-RONAST (now NAST) to promote joint research and technological development in areas of mutual interest.
The renewed partnership will be implemented through various collaborative activities, including the exchange of scientific information, research materials, and scientists, and the organisation of joint Science and technology seminars, workshops, and training programmes. It will also enable the execution of joint research projects, access to each other’s major research facilities, technology partnerships, and the twinning of institutions for capacity development.
The Ministry noted that cooperation will focus on mutually agreed areas, including biological sciences, food science and technology, water and environmental technologies, fuel and mining sciences, and metallurgy.
The countries will also partner on material sciences such as glass, ceramics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, alternative energy, leather and footwear technologies, metrology, polymer sciences, and drug discovery.
Vice-Chancellor of NAST, Prof. Dr. Dilip Subba, reaffirmed NAST’s commitment to this partnership.
“This MoU and the discussions held today would pave the way for a strengthened and enduring science and technology relationship between the two nations,” he added, while also proposing the formation of subject-specific working groups to facilitate structured collaboration in priority areas.
The agreement marks a new era in Indo-Nepal scientific collaboration, opening new avenues for joint research and knowledge exchange between the two countries.
(IANS)
