Ambassador of Pakistan visits IIASA

The parties discussed possibilities to move forward Pakistani-IIASA relations, including through capacity building mechanisms like IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) and Postdoctoral fellowships.

Particular attention during the meeting was given to IIASA research methods to project population by level of education. These methods enable researchers to explore the implications of different education policies on a country’s future fertility, life expectancy, migration and population level, as well as economic growth. Albert van Jaarsveld presented a case study for Pakistan, that shows possible effects of different national policies over the next few decades on the country’s population projections up till year 2100.

Another important topic of discussions was the Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (ISWEL) project on the Indus basin. ISWEL project, led by IIASA in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), seeks to develop tools and capacities to support the sustainable management of water, energy, and land through the development of a truly nexus approach in this transboundary basin, which faces multiple development and environmental challenges.

Ambassador Khokher was accompanied by Mr. Amir Saeed, Counselor of the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to UN and other International Organizations in Vienna. From the IIASA side Iain Stewart, Head of Communications and External Relations Department, and Sergey Sizov, Science Diplomacy Officer, Communications and External Relations Department, participated in the meeting.