Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 11/01/2011
Islamabad, 11-13 January 2011 Your Excellency, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani Co-Chairperson of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), Excellencies, Ministers for Science and Technology of OIC Member States, Honourable Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Coordinator General of COMSTECH, Distinguished members of the COMSTECH Executive Committee, Honourable delegates and guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me at the outset to welcome you all to the 14th General Assembly meeting of COMSTECH. I am grateful to His Excellency Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani and the Government of Pakistan for warm hospitality extended to us and the excellent arrangements made for this meeting. Pakistan has been a gracious host to the COMSTECH since its inception and provided all necessary support for advancing a culture of science, technology and innovation to enhance the socio-economic well being of the Ummah. I also commend the Coordinator General of COMSTECH, Dr. Atta ur Rahman for his dedication and commitment to the promotion of science and technology in the OIC Member States. The COMSTECH has come a long way since the last session of the COMSTECH General Assembly in 2008. The establishment of the Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO) is an important milestone in endeavour to realize our goals and targets by ensuring effective and speedy implementation of decisions. I am confident that now the COMSTECH, as a Standing Committee, will be able to focus more closely on strategic planning, policy-making and coordination matters. Its initiative to host a brainstorming session yesterday on “Developing Policy Guidelines for Proper Coordination of S & T Programs in OIC Institutions” is a positive step in that direction. Ladies and gentlemen, Science, Technology and Innovation are central to the long-term prosperity of the Muslim world. Advancement in science and technology is essential not only for the achievement of our socio-economic development targets but also for political empowerment of the Muslim countries and for revitalizing Islam’s pioneering role in the world. In recognition of this fact, the new Charter of the OIC enlists the enhancement and development of science and technology and promotion of research and cooperation among Member States in these fields as one of the objectives of the Organization. The adoption of the new OIC Charter has enabled us to continue our mission with greater vigour and bring about structural modifications in order to re-position the OIC to address the emerging challenges in areas such as poverty alleviation, health, environment, disaster relief and management, socio-cultural issues, higher education, science, technology and innovation. Since the adoption of the Vision 1441H for Science and Technology by the 10th Islamic Summit Conference in Malaysia in 2003 and the Ten Year Programme of Action(TYPOA) by the 3rd Extraordinary session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Makkah in 2005, the OIC Member States have made advances in the fields of Science and Technology and Higher Education. As a result of the concerted efforts of the Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and OIC institutions in the last 5 years, we have moved closer to the targets set by the two landmark documents. I would like to draw your attention to some figures in the area of Science and Technology. From an average expenditure of 0.2% of the GDP on R&D in 2005, the average spending of OIC Member States on R&D has now doubled to 0.41%. Tunisia has already achieved R&D expenditure level of 1% of the GDP. In Turkey, the Gross expenditure on R&D increased from 0.48% of GDP in 2003 to 0.73% of GDP in 2008. It now stands at 0.74% of the GDP and the country has set itself the target to increase gross R&D expenditure to 2% of the GDP by 2013. Pakistan also registered impressive increases in R&D expenditure which reached 0.68% of the GDP in 2008. I am confident that the continuation of similar trend will help us achieve the target of R&D expenditure of 1% of the GDP specified by the Ten Year Programme of Action. Though the number of scientific publications in OIC Member States continue to be below the world average, it has nonetheless increased to 63,342 publications in 2009 from just 18,391 publications in the year 2000. In 2009, Turkey with 20,000 publications and Iran with 13,400 publications, accounted for more than half of published articles by OIC Member States. In 2003, the number of researchers, scientists and engineers in the OIC countries engaged in R&D was around 250 per million i.e. one-tenth of the world average of 2532 per million. This number has now risen to 649, which is around one-fourth of the world average. These figures provide a reason for hope while at the same time underscoring the need for more concerted efforts to reach our targets as spelt out in the Vision 1441H and the Ten Year Programme of Action. Last month, the COMSTECH organized the Mid Term Review meeting to review the status of implementation of the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action and the Vision 1441 H for Science and Technology. I urge this 14th General Assembly meeting to analytically examine the recommendations of the Mid Term Review in the domains of science and technology, higher education, health and environment and agree on concrete measures for the implementation of those recommendations. The recommendations of the General Assembly will provide a valuable input for the 12th Islamic Summit Conference, being held in Sharm el Sheikh in March 2011, which will examine the outcome of the Mid Term Review process. Ladies and gentlemen, While the OIC is engaged in self-assessment and institutional reforms in order to better position itself to pursue the Charter objectives, the realization of the vision and targets for scientific and technological progress depends on the extent to which the Member States are willing to take up ownership of the OIC programs and activities. While I am happy to note that several Member States have strengthened R&D as a part of long term national strategies and plans for science and technology, the aggregate expenditure of OIC countries on R&D is yet to achieve the desired level. I, therefore, call upon all Member States to renew their commitment to advancement of Science and Technology and pursuit of the targets agreed in the Ten Year Programme of Action and the Vision 1441H. The formulation of national vision, strategies and long-term plans can benefit from Foresight studies and mapping of key trends and trajectories in science and technology-based innovation. In this regard the OIC General Secretariat, in collaboration with SESRIC and UK’s Royal Society and with the valuable cooperation of COMSTECH, IDB, ISESCO and other international partners, is working on the Atlas of Islamic World Innovation. The Atlas project aims at looking in detail at a geographically and economically diverse sample of fifteen OIC countries, and offer an independent assessment of how their innovation capabilities are changing, along with the opportunities and barriers to further progress. The project was made possible with the financial assistance and contributions from various the donors such as Qatar Foundation, the Government of UK and Canada and the Islamic Development Bank. I thank them for the generous support and encourage other OIC countries to contribute to this project. The project has commenced with a pilot stage involving six Member States namely Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Iran and Qatar. Launch of the Atlas country reports on Malaysia and Pakistan is expected during the 12th Islamic Summit Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in March 2011. Commercialization of research outputs is one of the ways to encourage and promote science, technology and innovation. With this in view and in pursuance of the provisions of the TYPOA and the Vision 1441 H, a High Level Consultative Committee comprising relevant OIC institutions, decided to launch Early Harvest Projects (EHPs). So far, two EHPs on Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Hajj Mobilization, have been successfully implemented. I encourage Member States to propose new projects for EHPs and call upon the COMSETCH to assist interested Member States in the formulation of new proposals. Another important step to promote joint Islamic action in the area of science and technology relates to Mega Projects initiative. Mega Projects aim at pooling of diverse capabilities, resources and expertise of Member States for the joint design, manufacture and marketing of small and medium sized planes, affordable cars, communications satellites and production of biotechnological based drugs and vaccines. The COMSTECH and the ICCI can play a pivotal role in overseeing and reviewing the implementation of these ongoing Mega Projects. Ladies and gentlemen, In the domain of higher education, individual OIC Member States and institutions have implemented a number of national programmes and activities. However, we need to examine ways of utilizing the existing OIC platforms for the promotion of more structured interaction between our higher education institutions for exchange of experience, expertise and best practices. I urge Member States to support the OIC universities through increased financial contributions to the Waqf funds for these universities as well as through secondment of senior teaching staff to these universities from their higher education institutions. Another way of assisting the OIC youth is through the offer of scholarships for bright students, particularly from the Least Developed Countries, student exchange programmes and initiation of joint research projects with good universities in the Member States. In the field of health, addressing pandemics and epidemic diseases and mother child health issues are priority areas for the OIC. In this regard, polio continues to be among the critical issues that need to be addressed in earnest by the OIC Member States. The General Secretariat and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have been working closely for some time. This cooperation has started yielding results. I request OIC Member States in a position to contribute financial resources to the GPEI to consider extending their contributions to completely eradicate polio. I also hope that Member States will enhance their contributions to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with a view to facilitating the ongoing cooperation between the Global Fund and OIC General Secretariat in the fight against the three diseases in OIC Member States. Under the cooperation framework signed between the OIC General Secretariat and the US Government on “Reaching Every Mother and Baby in OIC with Emergency Care", a joint project has been launched in Mali in November 2010 while the second will be launched in Bangladesh in February this year. Ladies and gentlemen, Environment and climate change issues are now high on the international agenda and also directly impacting the OIC Member States. It is therefore essential for OIC Member States to coordinate their positions to effectively address challenges stemming from climate change and deteriorating environmental conditions. Pursuant to the decision of the special meeting of the OIC Ministers responsible for Water, held at the sidelines of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul in March 2009, the OIC General Secretariat, IDB and International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) are preparing the OIC Water Vision. Once adopted, the OIC Water Vision will set a stage for greater cooperation between Member States, including through the establishment of the OIC Water Council. We must not forget that the ultimate goal of all development plans revolve around improving the quality of life of our people. They have the right to expect fair and equitable access to basic facilities such as water, food, health care, education and shelter. It is, therefore, important that our strategies in the field of science and technology are geared to bringing about change in the daily lives of our people. This is possible through full engagement of all OIC Member States in the activities of COMSTECH, STIO and the relevant institutions with necessary political will and pooling of our resources in the true spirit of Islamic solidarity. Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by conveying my best wishes for the success of the 14th General Assembly of COMSTECH. I am hopeful that the specific issues which I have outlined will receive your attention and due consideration. I also wish to reiterate my profound thanks and gratitude to the Government of Pakistan for hosting this meeting and extending warm hospitality to us. Thank you.
