HYDERABAD: A maiden four-day Pak-China-Iran international conference on biotechnology, bioengineering and biophysics chemistry and 4th an international symposium began here on Monday.

The event has jointly been organized by the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering University of Sindh, Higher Education Commission and National Commission on Biotechnology Islamabad.

The inaugural session was held at the Allama II Kazi Campus Jamshoro. Large number scholars of biotechnology and genetic engineering and various disciplines of biological and medical sciences from Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh are attending the event. Dr Bashir Ahmed Shaikh, Vice Chancellor Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam, said in his inaugural address that biotechnology has significantly contributed to the exploitation of biological organisms and processes through present-day modern techniques.

They could now profitably be used in medicine, agriculture, animal husbandry, cloning, and conservation of biodiversity and rehabilitation of the environment. He said biotechnology is a popular term for the generic technology of the 21st century and added that although it has been utilised for centuries in traditional production processes, modern biotechnology is only 50 years’ old and in the last few decades it has witnessed tremendous developments.