ISLAMABAD, NOV 17 /DNA / – Aimed at developing synergies to promote application of Islamic principles and teachings in national-level policymaking, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) inked down a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here in Islamabad.

Signed by IPS’ Vice Chairman Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain and Secretary CII Dr Ikram-ul-Haq for a renewable period of three years, the MoU is not only set to jointly foster application of Islamic principles in national policies, but also to facilitate exploration, cooperation and collaboration between the two institutions in carrying out a range of activities including joint research and publishing endeavors, co-organizing seminars, conferences and human development ventures, encouraging and facilitating dialogue among scholars, experts and policymakers on the matters of shared interests, sharing of intellectual resources, knowledge and expertise with each other and dissemination of research and analysis to the concerned stakeholders as well as to the public in general.

Speaking on the occasion, CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said there exists a lot of similarity between the works of CII and IPS which is leading to the formalization of working together via this agreement. He hoped that this collaboration will not only reinforce CII’s advice and arguments over matters of national interests but also pave the way for new suggestions and ideas.

Apart from the signatories and Chairman CII, the signing ceremony was also attended by Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman, Inamullah, DG Research, CII, Ghulam Dastageer Shaheen and Mufti Ghulam Majid, senior research officers at CII, Syed Nadeem Farhat, senior research officer at IPS, Dr Shahzad Iqbal Sham, senior research associate, IPS and Mohammad Wali Farooqi, research officer on Pakistan Affairs’ desk at the Institute.