An integrated joint Symposium on “The Economically important plants of the Himalayas – a shared wealth of Pakistan and China” was organized at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) on April 26, 2024. The groundbreaking opening of the symposiums was held in the auditorium of PAS, where Prof. Dr. Muhammad Qasim Jan, Ex-minister of Education of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and President PAS was the chief guest of the ceremony. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Aslam Baig, Secretary General PAS and Dr Shujaul Mulk Khan, Principal Organizer of the event from QAU, Prof. Jie Liu and Prof. Zeng-Yuan Wu, Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Prof. Asad Ullah, Director Botanical Garden University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Tahira Jatt, Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) Khairpur addressed the gathering with their knowledgeable presentations focusing on various aspects of the economically important plants of the Himalayas. More than 150 participants from different universities and research institutions of the country attended the symposium. The symposium was followed by a two days field visit to Galliyat led by Dr. Shujaul Mulk Khan, Dr. Asad Ullah and the Chinese delegation. Various plants were collected for herbarium and molecular data analyses during the botanical excursion. The Chinese delegate expressed a deep interest in the joint future research projects and collaborations with Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, the University of Peshawar, NARC, PMNH, PAS, PSF and SALU.

It’s pertinent to mention that the Chinese team from KIB is on its field visit to Pakistan under the PSF-NSFC Joint project titled “Ecological and molecular assessments of the prioritized endemic plants in the Himalaya”. Principal Investigators of the project, Dr. Shujaul Mulk Khan from Pakistan and Dr. Jie Liu from China is of the opinion that the current project could be a milestone for further collaborations between QAU and KIB in future. Dr. Jie Liu and Dr Zeng-Yuan Wu visited QAU and trained the students on plant samples collection and processing for herbarium and DNA studies. Later on they also met the Chinese and Pakistani Team working in CJPRC, QAU.