On June 8–9, a TIB delegation led by Prof. Xiang Hua, Director-General, attended the 26^th Coordinating Council Meeting of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South(COMSATS) held at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya, Indonesia, and yielded several milestone outcomes.

At the Council Meeting, Prof. Xiang Huapresented TIB’s scientific and technological strengths, and signed renewed cooperation agreement on the COMSATS Joint Center for Industrial Biotechnology(CCIB) between TIB and COMSATS with COMSATS Executive Director Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, on behalf of their respective institutions. The renewal reaffirms the Center as a flagship platform for industry-academia-research collaboration in biomanufacturing across the Global South.

Moreover, Prof. SunJibin, founding director of CCIB, was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Council, becoming the first Chinese scientist to hold this post in the organization’s 32-year history. The Coordinating Council is a Statutory Body of COMSATS, comprising Heads of the Centres of Excellence. It is a fountainhead of scientific activities for capacity building, research and development, and helps member states keep pace with the global trends in Science, technology and innovations.

On June 10, the TIB delegation participated in a side event on “Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development,” co-hosted by COMSATS and ITS. TIB representatives outlined the essential role biomanufacturing plays in underpinning global sustainable development.

Founded in 1994 with China as a founding member, COMSATS is an intergovernmental organization that brings together 27 member states across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Through its extensive global S&T innovation network and South-South and North-South cooperation, it promotes sustainable development in developing countries and serves as a vital platform for Global South science collaboration. In April 2021, COMSATS and TIB co-established CCIB, aiming to advance industrial biotechnology innovation and the biomanufacturing sector in developing countries. Since then, CCIB has conducted a series of activities including joint R&D, talent cultivation, technology demonstration. It was selected as the Good Practice in South-South Cooperation & Triangular Cooperation by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the activity endorsed by the IDSSD and the Enhancing Scientific Research Capacities Exhibition in the first Belt and Road Conference on the Science and Technology Exchange.

Looking ahead, TIB will draw on its new coordinating role on the COMSATS Coordinating Council and the renewed CCIB platform to foster deeper international partnerships, facilitate knowledge sharing, and strengthen inclusive participation in global science and technology governance. Through these efforts, the institute aims to accelerate biomanufacturing innovation in the Global South, help build collective S&T capacity among developing countries, and contribute practical solutions to shared sustainable development challenges.

Prof. Xiang Hua presented TIB’s scientific and technological strengths (Image by TIB)

Prof. Xiang Hua and Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria signed renewed cooperation agreement on CCIB (Image by TIB)

Prof. Xiang Hua and Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria appointed Prof. Sun Jibin as the Director of CCIB (Image by TIB)

Prof. Sun Jibin hosted the 26^th COMSATS Council Meeting (Image by TIB)

Group Photo (Image by TIB)