Press release

25 Oct 2011

Beirut

ESCWA Seeks Promoting South-South Technology Transfer Cooperation

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Beirut, 25 Oct 2011 (UN Information Service) —ESCWA Technology Centre (ETC) opened today an expert group meeting on “Promotion of South-South Cooperation in Technology Transfer”. The meeting is organized in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon (FCCIAL), and held at the Chamber of Beirut. Speakers at the opening session included Director of ETC Fouad Mrad and Director General of the Industrial Research Institute in Lebanon Bassam Frenn. Mrad highlighted the distinctive participation of the private sector in the meeting, represented by technology suppliers and users in the sectors of construction, education, industry, and scientific creativity. He noted that during last week’s Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in cooperation with the League of Arab States, ESCWA urged to focus on technology transfers befitting Arab countries’ conditions and priorities, especially in the field of technology localization, and national capacity building in order to ensure sustainability, effective use and exploitation of technologies. “We look forward that this meeting transforms these recommendations into a scientific reality,” he added. Frenn, for his part, said the Arab Labor Organization’s reports show unemployment rates in the Arab region as the worst in the world, exceeding 14 percent. This means that the region has more than 17 million unemployed people, of whom young educated individuals constitute a large proportion. “Solving this problem lies in implementing an ambitious, revivalist project to develop youth infrastructures, most notably education and incubators that contribute achieving their legitimate aspirations,” he added. Frenn called for strengthening confidence in youth, working on the development of their capacities and providing them with plans for a productive future. He said this meeting is a step towards changing our current situation so that we may become producers and not only consumers, and to achieve this we should start putting a comprehensive, specific regional context suiting our needs and concerns and by focusing on building knowledge infrastructures and capacities, he said. Participants in the meeting, which will conclude 26 October, will discuss priority areas of cooperation in technology transfer with the highest impact; and share best practices for cooperation with successful technology transfer case studies in manufacturing and construction industry technological innovation, and technology for education. This activity seeks to set the stage for a collaboration framework with multi owners for critical technology development, management, maintenance, and services.
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