Chinese govt honours Pakistani professor with Friendship award

Islamabad: The Chinese government has granted the Chinese Government’s Friendship Award to Director International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Professor Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary.

The award was presented by Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Pakistan, Nong Rong at a special ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy.

The Chinese Government’s Friendship Award is the People’s Republic of China’s highest award for “foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country’s economic and social progress”.

The winners of this award have been selected by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) under the State Council.

The award is conferred as part of the celebrations for the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on October 1 and it consists upon a medal and an award certificate.

Professor Choudhary has played a key role in China-Pakistan cooperation in the field of science and technology, including establishment of Sino-Pakistan centers in various fields.

This includes the national institute of virology, in collaboration with Wuhan Institute of Virology China.

Professor Choudhary is a world renowned medicinal chemist.

He has published 1,175 research papers in the fields of organic and bioorganic chemistry in international journals, 76 books and 40 chapters in books published by major US and European press. He has secured 40 US patents so far.

Choudhary’s work has been cited by the researchers from around the world over 30,000 times and his h-index is 80.

By now 94 national and international scholars have completed their PhD degrees under his supervision.

He has also been elected fellow by world renowned science academies named Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Islamic World academy of Sciences, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Chemical Society of Pakistan.

Choudhary is currently serving as Coordinator General, COMSTECH and Director, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi.