UPDATE - Pakistani nuclear institution, scientists bag international awards

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, MINOR EDITS

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistani scientists and an institution have been honored with international awards in "recognition of the country's advancement in the application of nuclear technology for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)," the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN have jointly conferred Outstanding Achievement Award on Pakistan’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology," the ministry said in a statement.

The Team Achievement Award for work in the same area was given to a group of four scientists working in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

Meanwhile, the Young Scientist Award was bagged by a PAEC scientist for work in plant mutation breeding and related technologies.

The awards will be presented during the IAEA's 65th General Conference in September 2021.

The press release said that "extensive civilian nuclear applications in the country are directly contributing to the wellbeing of the people and national development in the areas of public health, medicine, agriculture, industry, and nuclear power generation."

The SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all."

They were set up in 2015 by the UN General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by 2030.