Stakeholders urged to support Arab researchers, innovators
The Arab Forum on Research and Sustainable Development at its conclusion on Tuesday recommended the devising of action plans to enhance the contribution of institutions, research centres and researchers to Arab developmental issues and enabling partnerships between universities, research centres and production and development companies in Arab countries.
The ninth edition of the forum was hosted by the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, in cooperation with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO).
The two-day forum also advised the stakeholders to encourage Arab researchers and innovators and linking them with specialised companies by boosting cooperation between Arab institutions in the field of education, training and research in a bid to transform scientific innovations into actual national economic projects.
The forum underscored the importance of strengthening the role of the private sector in supporting and financing research and learning about Arab and international experiences that have succeeded in linking research with sustainable development.
Six discussion panels were held on the final day of the forum, during which prominent local and international researchers were hosted.
The panels discussed the role of Arab female researchers in agricultural research, the role of Arab female researchers in engineering and their role in leading Arab institutions and research centres.
The two-day forum aimed to enhance the contribution of institutions, authorities, universities, scholarly research centres, researchers and innovators in Arab development affairs.
It included eight sessions in which 39 working papers were submitted. It also targeted activating partnerships between universities, research and development centers, institutions, production and service companies.
The forum pursued encouraging Arab researchers and innovators and linking them with specialized companies in order to transform their innovations into economic products and projects, and to enhance communication with Arab scientists abroad and benefit from their expertise in the development of Arab countries.
Further, the forum contributed to strengthening the role of the private sector in supporting, encouraging and financing research in Arab countries, developing Arab scientific publishing tools, manufacturing educational aid tools and supplies, and creating Arabic digital content, in addition to presenting successful Arab and international experiences.
The forum was a milieu that brought together Arab experts, researchers, institutions and companies with their counterparts at the regional and international levels.
It also was an opportunity to attract Arab scientists and experts from inside and outside the Arab world in a bid to contribute to the transfer and localisation of advanced technologies to Arab countries.