Statement on the Review of Angola s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy

Transcription

1 Commission on Science and Technology for Development Eleventh session May 2008 Statement on the Review of Angola s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Read on behalf of Ambassador Clodoaldo Hugueney Permanent Representative of Brazil in Geneva by Minister Counselor Guilherme Patriota The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNCTAD

2 Statement read on behalf of Ambassador Clodoaldo Hugueney, Permanent Representative of Brazil in Geneva, by Minister Counselor Guilherme Patriota Review of Angola s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 29 May 2008 Thank you Mr. Chairman, I wish to convey Brazil s warmest greetings to H.E. Mr. Aguinaldo Jaime, Deputy Prime Minister, and to the distinguished Delegation led by him, on the occasion of the review of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) of Angola. I also wish to recognize and greet all officials who are present on this occasion, representing UN Agencies and bodies, and who contributed to Angola s STIP Review. I am specially honored to have been chosen to address the CSTD plenary, in association with such distinguished Permanent Representatives as Ambassador Francisco Manuel da Fonseca Xavier Esteves, of Portugal, and Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, of Nigeria. I would like especially to thank the UNCTAD Secretariat, through Madame Lakshmi Pouri, Acting Secretary General, and all those involved in this project, for the excellent report on Angola s science, technology and innovation policy. Brazil and Angola share five centuries of common history. The two countries are linked by strong human, cultural, political and commercial ties. Brazil is proud to have been the first country to recognize Angola s independence. Our countries and peoples speak the same language, and we both are members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, CPLP Angola is the destination of a significant portion of Brazil s foreign investment, some of which helped finance one of Angola s most important infrastructure projects: the Capanda hydroelectric power plant. In his latest visit to Angola, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a one billion dollar increase in financing for Brazilian 1

3 companies with investments in Angola. Investment growth has been followed by an expansion of bilateral trade, which increased fivefold in the period 2003 to Brazil is convinced that international cooperation is fundamentally important for technological development. Angola is among the main partners of Brazil s technical and technological cooperation policy. Last year, researchers from both countries received financing, through the ProÁfrica program, for developing six joint projects in the areas of hepatitis and meningitis, biological control of pests and diseases, research on marginalized populations and the establishment of academic networks. ProÁfrica is a major initiative of Brazil s Ministry of Science and Technology for promoting joint R&D projects between researchers from Africa and Brazil. In 2007, 49 projects received financial support from ProÁfrica in a total amount of two million dollars. As emphasized by UNCTAD in its report, capacity building has a central role in innovation policies. Angola and Brazil have cooperated in this area for more than two decades. Since the 80 s, Angola s students have taken part in scholarship programs in Brazilian universities. More recently, in October 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two countries. This MoU has put in place a new bilateral framework for capacity building, which is the Program for the Scientific Education of Angola s Students, PFCA in the Portuguese acronym. The program aims to strengthen Angola s capacity in research and development and to stimulate the country s university teachers to venture into innovation. Footnote no. 110, on page 45, of the STIP report, mentions the case of Brazil trained Angolan researchers unable to find employment upon repatriation, as reported in SciDevNet (2007) Brazil to boost health research capacity in Angola ). We are aware of such difficulties, many Brazilian researchers themselves are all too familiar with in their own country. But we remained convinced that the path to a better future is based on persisting with such training programs, more of which is needed, not less, and that in time, with the effort put in by the Angolan government, employment opportunities will emerge for Angolan researchers. 2

4 In Luanda, last year, President Lula called for bilateral cooperation in biofuels and renewable energies. He indicated that, in spite of Angola s being an oil power and Brazil s self sufficiency in oil, the two countries had much to gain from diversifying their energetic basis. Biofuels generate economic, social and environmental benefits. In Brazil, the biofuel industry accounts for 6 million jobs. Small farmers located in poor agricultural zones are among the main beneficiaries. Agriculture in general is an area of huge potential for bilateral cooperation. Before the civil war, Angola was a major food producer. The conflict transformed the country into a net importer of food and recipient of international aid. Since the 2002 cease fire, however, Angola has experienced large scale increases in agricultural production, mainly due to the resettlement of four million displaced persons. Angola would greatly benefit from agricultural technology and the development of plant varieties and, in this regard, Brazil believes it is in a position to make a meaningful contribution. I will now take a brief moment to address some issues raised in the Review: The importance of science, technology and innovation for development cannot be overstated, and we fully support the notion that it can and must play a central role in the development of Angola; It must be recognized, nevertheless, that STI involves one of the most complex forms of public policy, and challenges are particularly great for developing countries; A country reborn from the paralyzing effects of conflict and human and material strife, however, has the possibility of starting anew, perhaps leapfrogging into the future through STI, learning from the experience of others, and, above all, avoiding their mistakes; Adequate sources of funding for STI is certainly a crucial starting point. It must be reliable, agile, low cost, multi year, and shielded from the whims and variations of the ever changing political context; 3

5 Multi agency, functional and substantive national coordination is vital, in order to overcome a reality many countries share of sectoral introspection, and isolation amongst the various governmental agencies, universities and departments which have a stake and that can make a contribution. Such coordination effort must be multi stakeholder, bringing into the policy formulation and implementation sphere the big anchor companies, public or private that have a standing presence in the local economy and have acquired critical mass to support financially, technologically and otherwise the expensive actions required for promoting STI (the big actors in oil and diamonds, in Angola, for example, should be called into play); International cooperation, including South South cooperation (perhaps not sufficiently addressed in the STIP Review report), can be an effective means of avoiding donor dependency concentration, and a means of avoiding policy choices lock in due to the excessive influence of consolidated interests, or real market insufficiencies; A certain amount of benign state interventionism is, more often than not, a necessary evil. All highly developed countries in the driving seat of technological progress and innovation do it; The mastering and appropriate fine tuning of the national regulatory framework is critical. This process should be discussed and propelled from within, based on national interest considerations, and on locally assed potential and realities; not imported from abroad. Jumping into the global regulatory framework, represented by the high standard Geneva drawn trade and Intellectual Property treaties, may not always work in the best interest of countries still at the early stages of development, no matter how well they might be recovering from extended periods of social and economic stagnation; Building up STI capabilities takes time, but we are certain that the future bodes well for Angola. And Brazil is ready to help. Thank you. 4