On October 29th, Prof. Atta-Rahman, the Chairman of the United Nations Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, President of the Network of Academies of Science of Islamic Countries, Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Professor Emeritus of University of Karachi, and Prof. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, the Director of International Center for Chemistry and Biological Sciences in University of Karachi, visited Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Prof. Rahman and Prof. Choudhary visited the Core Facility Center, the Microorganisms and Viruses Culture Collection Center, and participated in the bilateral seminar. Prof. CHEN Xinern, the Director General of WIV, CAS, and representatives of scientific research personnel from various centers accompanied the discussion.

At the symposium, the participants listened to the basic introduction of WIV, CAS, and the development of the International Center for Chemistry and Biological Sciences at University of Karachi respectively, especially the virology center currently under construction. The two sides held active discussions on the cooperation in research on rapid molecular diagnostics of viral infections, drug discovery developments and vaccines, molecular virology, genomics and computational research for virology, and emerging viral diseases along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the “Belt and Road” Initiative. At the end of the symposium, Prof. CHEN Xinwen and Prof. Choudhary formally signed a memorandum of understanding for an international collaboration on behalf of both parties.