Professor Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan, the vice chancellor of the University of Karachi inaugurated Sino-Pakistan Hybrid Rice Research Centre (SPHRRC) at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), KU. The center was set up with an investment of Rs150 million.

The research center is installed with innovative research facilities such as NMR spectroscopes, plant tissue culture technology, genomics, and greenhouses. The ceremony of the opening curtain was graced by the presence of Patron-in-Chief Professor Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Consul General of China in Karachi Wang Yu, China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou’s Director General Professor Dr. Cheng Shihua and ICCBS Director Professor Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary. Mohammad Zubair, the provincial governor, not attended the event due to some reason although agreed to be the chief guest of the ceremony

The inaugural ceremony of SPHRRC was held at Professor Salim-uz-Zaman Siddiqui Auditorium, ICCBS, the varsity’s VC said that Pakistan needs some huge investment in the field of science and technology for a prolonged period to hankering the desired progress.

He pursued and said that true commitment from leadership and enormous investment is the base of development of any nation. A living example is China that has progressed incredibly in limited time. The vision of leadership and true commitment along with huge investment lead China among well-developed countries of the world.

Professor Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman said that there are 100 million people below the age of 20 in a total population of Pakistan that is youth that was required to be educated.

He drew attention to the fact that natural resources replaced by trained human resources leading to hi-tech industrialization and develop the economy. He also discussed the drastic slash of the higher education budget and lamented cut with a budget exceeding 60% from development budget of universities of Pakistan leaving universities in disarrays.

Wang Yu, Chinese Consul General said, “China was the inordinate exporter of high-quality rice produced in Pakistan. He appreciated the hybrid rice center and its highly qualified scholars and up-to-date research equipment.