Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Secretary-General of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, received a high-level delegation of senior Pakistani educationists at the D-8 Secretariat in Istanbul to discuss cooperation in higher education, research and innovation.
Exchanges covered the D-8’s origin and historical evolution as well as the Organization’s expanding sectoral cooperation. The Secretary-General stressed that education, science and technology are core pillars of D-8 collaboration and pointed to the D-8 NPRI as a flagship platform connecting leading universities across the Member States.
The Pakistani delegation included Dr. Abdul Basit, President of the Association of Private Sector Universities of Pakistan (APSUP) – Federal Chapter; Mr. Sabur Sethi, President of City University of Science and Technology, Peshawar; and Mr. Muhammad Murtaza Noor, Focal Person and Coordinator for CCoE and Outreach at OIC-COMSTECH, Islamabad. Delegates reviewed opportunities to deepen institutional linkages through joint research, academic exchanges and innovation projects under the D-8 NPRI framework.
Ambassador Mahmood encouraged more Pakistani universities and higher education institutions to join D-8 NPRI through the relevant national ministries, underlining Pakistan’s role in hosting key D-8 bodies. Pakistan currently hosts the D-8 NPRI Secretariat at COMSATS University Islamabad and the D-8 Research Center for Agriculture and Food Security at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, both of which were highlighted as important hubs for regional collaboration.
Members of the delegation praised the Secretariat’s efforts to promote academic and scientific cooperation and expressed strong interest in expanding engagement, particularly within the NPRI network. The visit to Türkiye coincided with Pakistan’s participation in the Eurasia Higher Education Summit EURIE 2026, reflecting the country’s evolving higher education landscape and commitment to international research partnerships.
