Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) is a premier organization mandated to advise the Government on Science and Technology policy issues. PCST has historically played leading role in the formulation of national S&T policies of Pakistan. PCST's recommendations and efforts have also resulted in establishment of the leading institutions of the country such as Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan Science Foundation, Higher Education Commission, Intellectual Property Organization etc. PCST is also secretariat of the National Commission for Science and Technology which is headed by the Prime Minister.

Pakistan is the 8th leading country in producing medicinal plants but unfortunately, it export share does not match with its herbal wealth as we export mainly the raw material on throw away price and spend fortune on import of finished products. The flora of Pakistan is very rich due to its diverse climate, soil conditions and multiple ecological regions. Almost 90% of Himalayan region of Pakistan are enriching in natural herbal resources, but they are not properly utilized and commercialized, thus there is a huge potential for value addition, and contributing to socio-economic development of the country. To capitalize its massive potential in natural herbal resources, there is a need to focus on the health promoting potential and value addition of indigenous medicinal plants. Following are the main objectives of the workshop:

• To review Pakistan's challenges facing by herbal sector in enhancing its export share in the global market.

• To discuss the health benefits of indigenous herbal wealth and functional foods of Pakistan.

• To discuss the potential, opportunities and way forwards for rapid growth of herbal medicine sector.

• To discuss the potential available in indigenous herbal plants towards value addition.

Contact for further details:
Mr. Khalid Pervez Bhatti, PCST
Ph. 051-9201259, Cell: 0300-5762913
hafiz_khalidbhatti@yahoo.com