New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) The Indian Ocean Rim Association's regional science and technology transfer coordination centre on medicinal plants has been inaugurated in Lucknow, the Ministry of External Affairs said today.

It was inaugurated at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) campus in Lucknow on Monday.

The establishment of the Indian Ocean Rim Association--Regional Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (IORA-RCSTT) Coordination Centre follows the signing of an MoU between CSIR-CIMAP and the Tehran based IORA-RCSTT on February 24 in Tehran, the MEA said in a statement.

CIMAP is an institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology.

With the setting up of the Centre, one of India's IORA initiatives has now been operationalised.

The centre would be a useful platform not only to disseminate knowledge of the myriad use and benefits of medicinal plants among the IORA member states, but also help them commercialise their available resources optimally.

By institutionalising the cooperation in this field, the three-fold objective of technical cooperation, technology transfer and commercialisation is expected to be met to the benefit of the IORA member states.

The establishment of the centre is funded by the MEA, which would also be sponsoring its activities and work plan over the next five years.

The IORA has 21 members, including India, Tanzania, Iran, Indonesia and Australia.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)