OIC URGES MEMBER STATES TO DOUBLE SPENDING ON RESEARCH

OIC, urge its member states to double the spending on research and investment in technology. (Photo: IINA report)

Jeddah, 28 Jumadil Awwal 1436/19 March 2015 (MINA) -The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) urged its member states to encourage researches in the fields of science and emerging technology.

The pan Islamic body made the call during a preparatory meeting for the Summit of Islamic Sciences and Technology, scheduled to be held in Islamabad in the last quarter of 2015.

The meeting noted that the encouragement of these researches have to be through the creation of sustainable infrastructure in universities and research institutions, as well as through the preparation of programs, in order to build the capabilities of innovation and local technology in all sectors, the International Islamic News Agency (IINA) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The meeting has proposed its member states, which spend annually less than 0.3 percent from their gross domestic product (GDP) on scientific infrastructure, research, and development to double this figure. It also urged the countries, which are in advanced level in their spending, to increase this figure to 3 percent by 2025.

Currently, the overall spending of the OIC member states on development and research does not exceed 0.46 percent of GDP, while the average rates in the world and in the developing countries, which are not members of the OIC, reached 1.86 percent and 1.24 percent respectively.

The recent report presented by the Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), an affiliate of the OIC, during the preparatory meeting in Jeddah stressed the need to increase the share of the member states in the global scientific production (publications and patents) by 100 percent in the next ten years.

It also called for doubling the number of employees in R & D (research and development) to include all the forces of scientific operating levels, including the accredited technicians.

In addition to this, the report stressed the need to increase the share of goods and high-tech services in the trade and economic activities of the member states so as to reach 30 percent by 2025.

The share of the member states from the global scientific production in 2013 amounted to 6.1 percent with109,000 scientific articles and 108,821 publications, which is a very low rate comparing to the global average.(T/R05/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)