WASHINGTON: As many as 23 American universities from 16 states and the District of Columbia have received grants to work with their Pakistani counterparts, the US State Department said on Thursday.
The fields, in which collaboration will occur, range from business development to gender studies, with various students and faculty members already studying and engaged in research activities under this partnership.
Since 2005, grants co-financed under the US-Pakistan Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement have funded 96 research projects in a variety of areas.
Researchers from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad and the University of California are already developing a low-cost, blood-based tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic test. It is hoped that it will be more sensitive than the current World Health Organisation-recommended sputum test.
This diagnostic test is undergoing trials in Chennai to prepare for its approval and commercial launch in India. It could eventually enable patients testing positive for TB to undergo effective treatment for the deadly disease sooner.
The two above-mentioned universities launched a $17 million project last year, which will enable faculty members and graduate students from both countries to study and do research at each other’s campuses. The project is designed to update curriculum and technical resources at the Faisalabad university.
Additionally, researchers at the University of Michigan at Dearborn and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore are collaborating on developing air quality monitoring that can be applied to mobile and wireless devices. This new area of research aims to improve air quality in polluted urban areas with the possibility of soil and water quality improvement in future applications.
The department also discussed other ongoing collaborations such as the US-Pakistan Clean Energy Partnership, launched in 2015, which supports private investment in financially sound, clean energy projects in Pakistan. The aim is to add at least 3,000 megawatts of clean power to Pakistan’s grid by 2020.
In 2016, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invited a group of Pakistani Cochran and Borlaug Fellows to study the benefits of using US wooden products. The USDA connects scientists to jointly develop varieties of seeds, which will resist diseases that threaten both countries’ cotton and wheat production.
On the economic front, cooperation with Pakistan directly benefits America by creating US jobs, promoting its businesses and exports as well as advancing scientific progress in critical areas. The US exported $1.8 billion in goods to Pakistan last year, creating over 9,200 US jobs according to the US Department of Commerce.
Furthermore, General Electric recently won a contract to provide 55 locomotives to Pakistan Railways, all of which will be manufactured in Erie, Pennsylvania. Foreign direct investment from Pakistan to the United States in 2015 supported up to 1,000 additional US jobs.
