Cern Director General Dr R Aymer received the President on arrival at the Centre from Davos, where he represented Pakistan at the meeting of the World Economic Forum. Musharraf was given a presentation on the working of the Cern laboratory.
Dr Aymer introduced to Musharraf a group of Pakistani scientists and engineers who are working with the organisation. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (Paec) enjoys close co-operation with the Cern in various fields.
In his brief remarks, the President commended the contribution of Pakistani scientists and engineers in forging close relations between Pakistan and Cern. Later, he visited a number of facilities at the Centre.
Musharraf, while talking to reporters during the visit, said it is a reality that the people of Palestine have voted for Hamas. He asked to give Hamas a chance for peace and underscored that the world, which is already in turmoil, cannot afford another confrontationist course. "We believe in democracy," Musharraf said.
He expressed the optimism that since Hamas is in government, it has the responsibility for security and development of Palestinian people and it may go for peace.
"There may be a silver lining for Middle East peace, if we give Hamas a chance to govern," Musharraf added. The President said Hamas has been elected by the Palestinian people and it is a demand for democracy that they be given a chance, otherwise democracy will become a farce. He called upon Hamas to adopt a reconciliatory path.
Founded in 1954, various facilities of Cern laboratories are located in France and Switzerland. The co-operation between Cern and Pakistan concerning development of scientific and technical collaboration in the research projects of the Centre began after the two sides signed an agreement in October 1994.
In November 1997, a protocol between Paec and Cern was signed under which the Paec would fabricate and supply steel supports for its facility called CMS.
Now, the CMS detector is sitting securely on stout magnet support made in Pakistan. The CMS detector is used for detection of "higgs particles," the heaviest particle in the universe.
Pakistan took another major initiative, in 2002 when it signed an MoU under which the Paec made a commitment to supply 288 Resistive Plat Chambers (RPC) and Front End Electronic Board (FEEB) for the CMS experiment.