The 14th meeting of the Coordinating Council was successfully held on May 26th -28th in Bogotá, Colombia, with hospitality of Centro Internacional de Fisica (CIF). More than 30 experts and scholars from over 10 countries took part in the meeting. Dr. Prof. Zhaohui LIN, on behalf of International Center for Climate and Environment Sciences (ICCES), IAP, attended the meeting.  

The 14th Council Meeting covered an eleven point agenda in three technical

sessions spread over two full working days. Main agenda items comprised: 1) the implementation of decisions taken in the 13th Coordinating Council meeting, COMSATS’ annual activity report, presented by the Centers of Excellence on their programs and activities; 2) Progress in the newly launched Thematic Research Groups (TRGs), presented by the lead center of the TRGs; 3) Discuss about new initiatives which COMSATS could undertake during the coming years in order to strengthen the collaborative programs among the Centers of Excellence for achieving better socio-economic impact. 

As one of the Centers of Excellence, ICCES obtained great achievements in core project research, 2010 CTWF organization, international exchange and cooperation etc. during the past year, Dr. Prof. Zhaohui LIN introduced the 2010-2011 annual research work, especially in the progress of study on climate change of ICCES. In the session of TRGs presentation, being the lead center of the thematic group "climate change and environment protection", Dr. Prof. Zhaohui LIN further introduced the 2010-2011 annual work of the thematic group to all participants. 

The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) carries out its major scientific and technical activities through its well established Network of Centers of Excellence. The Coordinating Council is entrusted by the Network Charter to provide oversight to the programs and activities of the Network and take necessary decisions to ensure their smooth implementation. This is the first time that the meeting been arranged in the Latin American region. It provided opportunities to the participants from other regions to have a first hand knowledge about the potentials and operational paradigms of their Latin American colleagues and would be helpful in strengthening the collaborative ties among them.