KARACHI: Federal Minister for Industries and National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain visited Karachi University (KU) on Monday, where he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a research laboratory at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). KU Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Iraqi and Prof Ata-ur-Rehman, Patron-in-Chief of the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS, welcomed the minister at the MoU signing ceremony, after which he received a briefing on the ongoing ICCBS research projects from its director, Prof Farzana Shaheen. Under the agreement, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research will establish a National Reference Laboratory for the Department of Plant Protection (NRL-DPP) at the HEJ Institute within three years, subject to the timely approval of the project and funding. The lab will serve as a national facility for quality checks of samples against pesticide residues and related testing and will meet the demand for emerging challenges in food and drug testing. “A technical evaluation committee will be constituted initially for five years. The director ICCBS will be the sole administrative authority of NRL-DPP,” an ICCBS spokesperson said.