LONDON: Pakistan on Friday beat India in the race to become an associate member of Cern (European
Organization for Nuclear Research), the world’s largest nuclear physics laboratory that recently found evidence of
“God particle”.
A senior official of Cern had told in
an exclusive interview in London that bureaucratic red tape in
India had slowed down the country’s intentions of joining Cern as an associate
member.
On Friday, Cern director general Rolf Heuer and the chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Ansar Parvez
signed in Islamabad in the presence
of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a document admitting
Pakistan to Cern Associate Membership, subject to ratification by the
government of Pakistan.
“Pakistan has been a strong
participant in CERN’s endeavors in science and technology since the 1990s,”
said Rolf Heuer. “Bringing nations together in a peaceful quest for knowledge
and education is one of the most important missions of Cern. Welcoming Pakistan
as a new associate member state is therefore for our organization a very
significant event.”
