ISLAMABAD, Mar 30 (APP): The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and Engineering Development Board (EDB) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at collaborating in the areas of research for the development of the country’s engineering goods and services sector on modern lines.
In the signing ceremony, the PIDE was represented by its Vice-Chancellor Dr Nadeem ul Haque and EDB by Chairman Almas Hyder, a news release said.
Speaking on the occasion, PIDE VC Dr Nadeem ul Haque stressed the need to map out and determine the contribution of the engineering industry to the economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) share, investment, employment generation and identification of top performers.
“There is also a need to understand why firms do not grow and why they are not exporting,” he added.
EDB Chairman Almas Hyder endorsed the views of PIDE VC, expressing confidence that the MoU would give the EDB an edge while proposing policy interventions for the development of the engineering industry based on updated information regarding the current state of the industry. “Research and policy go hand in hand, and the industry needs to be mapped out more,” he added.
According to the document, the MoU would help promote cooperation in research activities between two institutes.
The agreement is the result of an understanding that the cooperation would help achieve the mutually beneficial goal of promoting research and development of the engineering industry, serving critical decisions and policymakers of the country with credible research-based analysis.
