The science ministers of India and Pakistan have agreed on a number of key areas of scientific collaboration through which they hope to strengthen ties between the two countries. 

Meeting in New Delhi this week, Pakistan's minister for research and higher education Atta-ur-Rahman and Indian science minister Murli Manohar Joshi selected information technology; engineering sciences; pharmaceuticals; bioinformatics; and biotechnology for industrial, agricultural and health applications as areas in which researchers from the two countries will work together.

As a first step, the two countries will set up expert groups in these disciplines to initiate talks, according to an official spokesperson in New Delhi. The meeting between the two ministers follows a landmark agreement reached earlier this month between the leaders of their respective nations to encourage greater cooperation in science and technology.