Pakistan became Associate Member State of CERN

Pakistan on 19 December 2014 became Associate Member State of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).

CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer and the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar Parvez, signed a document in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The decision to grant associate membership to Pakistan was taken in lieu of Pakistan’s contribution to building the CMS and ATLAS experiments since it signed a Co-operation Agreement with CERN in 1994. Pakistan is also involved in accelerator developments, making it an important partner for CERN.

Pakistan had applied for the CERN associate membership in February 2013.

By 2010, CERN membership was exclusively restricted to European countries. However, it is now open to non-European states as well.

The status of associate member is also the pre-stage to full membership. In May 2014, Turkey became the Associate Member state of CERN.

Benefit of being a member

Associate Membership will allow Pakistan to participate in the governance of CERN, through attending the meetings of the CERN Council.

Moreover, it will allow Pakistani scientists to become members of the CERN staff, and to participate in CERN’s training and career-development programmes.

Finally, it will allow Pakistani industry to bid for CERN contracts, thus opening up opportunities for industrial collaboration in areas of advanced technology.