Madam, Pang Chunxue, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy appreciated Chins Pak, Scientists for their joint efforts putting Pakistani plants in space She was addressing a ceremony held here on Wednesday to celebrate the landmark of China-Pakistan Space Science and Technology cooperation on the eve of the return of Pakistani Seeds from Chinese Space. She said, " This is first ever that Pakistani plants were in space Madam, Pang Chunxue, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan speech on the celebration ceremony of Pakistani seeds from Chinese space station Today we are here to have the handover ceremony of Pakistani medicinal plant seeds after six-month orbit stay in China Space Station.

The seeds, taking a ride with Shenzhou XIV manned spacecraft, was launched into space to conduct scientific experiment in June, 2022 and returned to ground safely last December.  This is first ever that Pakistani plants were in space. The experiment will surely be recorded in the history of China-Pakistan friendship and a landmark of our S&T cooperation. I would like to thank the scientists of both sides for your joint efforts.  My thanks also goes to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan, COMSTECH and Pakistan Science Foundation for your contributions, and Minister Iqbal, Ambassadors and representatives of COMSTECH member countries for joining us to witness this special occasion. S&T cooperation is an important part of the China-Pakistan bilateral relations.

Remarkable results have been achieved since the two countries signed an intergovernmental S&T cooperation agreement in 1976. The two sides have jointly funded more than 475 research projects covering agriculture, aerospace, water resource protection, chemical industry, medical and health care, biotechnology, computer science, environment, energy , meteorology, geology and technology management. Scholars from both sides have jointly published more than 8,000 international papers in 2021, which is 13 times than that in 2013 when the Belt and Road Initiative was launched. A number of joint labs, technology transfer platforms and talents exchange mechanisms have been established.

The bilateral S&T cooperation has also been included under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will surely provide strong support to the high quality and sustainable development of CPEC. China's international S&T cooperation is an open, shared and inclusive cooperation. Space exploration is a common cause of mankind. China insists on conducting cooperation in space exploration on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use, and inclusive development.  The Chinese Space Station is an important part of United Nations' "Global Shared Space Initiative" and is open to all UN member states. All countries are welcome to actively participate in space exploration with China. Meanwhile, China-Pakistan friendship needs to be passed on from generation to generation.

Today, we are delighted to witness that Pakistani teenagers have interacted with Chinese astronauts by writing letters to them, with a Chinese astronaut responding via video. We firmly believe that this communication will surely help to light up the teenager's space dreams, inspire their thinking and wisdom, and more importantly, sow the seeds of our iron clad friendship in their hearts. Ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends, Three months ago, when meeting with Prime Minister Shabaz in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed that China will further deepen synergy between its development strategies and those of Pakistan, and solidly promote cooperation in areas such as agriculture, science and technology, and people's livelihood. 

Today's event is a vivid example of implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.  Both countries are committed to building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era. We firmly believe that by deepening cooperation and working together for common development, we will surely bring more benefits to the two peoples and prosperity of the two countries."

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP