First Steering Committee Meeting

The first meeting of the Steering Committee was held under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan, Mr. Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, on 6th April 2009. Besides the Federal Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology and the Executive Director COMSATS, the members of the Committee included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance and other relevant departments. Among the important decisions made on this occasion were:

• The Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan, would correspond with the Ambassadors of the Member Countries requesting them to sensitize their respective countries about the decision to hold the Commission Meeting. The Foreign Office was to coordinate with Pakistani Ambassadors in Member States for this purpose.
• Sub-committees would be constituted on 12 clusters of organizational activities for the Commission Meeting, namely Substantive Agenda of the Meeting; Administrative Matters; Financial Matters; Documentation and Printing; Protocol; Security; Logistics; Conference Hall Arrangements; Media Coverage; Health Emergencies; Gifts/Souvenirs; and Side events.
• The Federal Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology would write to all heads/conveners of the sub-committees to work out realistic budget estimates and the Terms of Reference for these sub-committees.
• The Committee approved the preliminary estimate of the budget for the Meeting.

In the light of the decisions of the 1st meeting of the Steering Committee, the following actions were taken:

• The matter of holding the Commission Meeting was included in the agendas of COMSATS’ Consultative Committee and Coordinating Council meetings held in Abuja, in April 2009. During the subsequent months, the provisional agenda of the Meeting was circulated among all Member States.
• Letters were sent by the Federal Secretary MoST to all COMSATS’ Focal Points requesting them to sensitize their Governments about the Commission Meeting and send their feedback on the ‘Provisional Agenda’. As a follow up, COMSATS Secretariat sent letters to all focal points in the 21 Member States requesting them to send their feedback on: the provisional agenda of the Commission Meeting; and confirmation of their participation.
• COMSATS Secretariat communicated the decisions of the 1st Steering Committee Meeting to the designated conveners apprising them about their responsibilities with regards to the cluster of management activities for the organization of the Commission Meeting assigned to them.
• The sub-committees, headed by senior government officials from Ministries of health, culture, foreign affairs and other government institutions like Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST), as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology and COMSATS Secretariat, held their meetings to work out a definite budget and terms of reference for their undertakings and to submit their preliminary reports that were to be reviewed in the next Steering Committee meeting. COMSATS Secretariat also facilitated the conveners of the sub-committees in their meetings through its appointed representatives.

Second Steering Committee Meeting

The 2nd meeting of the Steering Committee was held on 19th October 2009 in Islamabad. The Chairman appreciated the efforts made by the conveners of the sub-committees for preparation of their reports on various organizational aspects in connection with the Commission Meeting. After reviewing the reports of the sub-committees, the Steering Committee approved their recommendations.

The following decisions were made during the course of the meeting:

• The proceedings of the Commission are to be spread over a period of two days as opposed to the previously decided one day.
• Keeping in view the extended duration, the previously estimated budget for the Meeting was enhanced.
• Owing to the current security situation in Pakistan, the Meeting should be postponed to the later half of the year 2010. A decision as to the final schedule for the Commission Meeting would be taken in the third meeting of the Steering Committee after the general review of the country’s situation according to the reports from the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs.