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4 March 2009

Dr Phillippe Busquin
Dr Jean-François Girard
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Over the years, the European Parliament has played a vital role in vigilantly safeguarding and promoting the European Union's (EU) co-operation and partnership programmes with developing countries. At a time when there is much critical reflection on the role science and technology can play in cementing this partnership. It is reassuring to know we can rely on the interest and support of the Parliament. So, when I was invited by the Science and Technology Options Assessment Committee and France's IRD to address this important conference, I gladly accepted.

Let me first pay tribute to our host, Professor Busquin, who, as former European Commissioner for Research, has done a lot to improve international co-operation in the Framework Programmes. His co-convener, Professor Girard, is a long-standing friend of the developing world, especially Africa and South Africa. Gentlemen, your contribution in highlighting the importance of scientific and technological co-operation with developing countries has been enormous, and I have no doubt it will continue to be so. It is a great honour for me to be here with you today.

South Africa's experience in astronomy, and in many other scientific disciplines in which our scientists have a distinguished record, clearly illustrates the fact that the pursuit of scientific and technological excellence is not the sole domain of the fully developed nations. This also constitutes a critical imperative for developing countries. Strengthening science and technology partnerships between Europe and the developing world will not only enhance the general ability to fight effectively against poverty, but will also contribute to ensuring a truly inclusive global sustainable development. As always, part of the challenge lies in recognising this, and part in engaging with it.

Research and development has been growing at a brisk rate globally. Developments at the frontiers of technology continue to deliver handsome profits, and Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) investment in research and development (R&D) almost doubled in the decade ending in 2006, to about United States Dollars (US$)818 billion.

Practically, every country, irrespective of its economic standing, is involved in the R&D process, and seeks to implement an innovation strategy. The OECD's Technology and Industry Outlook for 2008 reveals that even the world's least developed economies are significantly improving their share of global investment in research and development. The share of global R&D accounted for by the non-OECD countries rose from 11,7 percent in 1996 to an impressive 18,4 percent in 2005.

Investment in research and development shows the faith a country has in its people and their abilities; it denotes a willingness to invest in the future. In 2003, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), acting in concert with the African Union (AU), established the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology. This was conceived as a high-level platform for developing policies and setting priorities on science, technology and innovation for African development. Its members have committed to mobilising financial resources to the tune of at least one percent of their national Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for investment in R&D. According to a 2007 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) study on R&D in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, the level of R&D investment at that time was less than 0,3 percent. So a one percent target, although pitifully small in global terms, still represents a more than threefold increase for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

This is the first hurdle, and although it cannot be the ultimate goal, achieving the one percent investment level target will go a long way to facilitating the implementation of the African Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action, which aims to set Africa on track for transformation into a continent-wide grouping of knowledge-based economies.

Through this consolidated plan of action, the continent commits to collective actions for development using science and technology for their socio-economic transformation; and to integrate itself into the world economy on the basis of the three interrelated conceptual pillars, which include capacity building, knowledge production and technological innovation.

By "capacity building" we refer to the creation, improvement and mobilisation of human skills, physical infrastructure, financial resources, together with the development of accompanying policies for science and technology to solve Africa-specific problems.

However, it is important to note that the capacity of a country's economy to innovate is largely dependent on existing physical infrastructure such as laboratories for scientific research, electricity supply, connectivity to telecommunications, and the ability to design and develop new products and processes or use existing technologies. The state of infrastructure obviously has an enormous influence on the ability of institutions to apply and produce knowledge.

That is why the World Economic Forum (WEF) identified infrastructure as one of the pillars of the economic competitiveness of nations. So, in assessing national systems of innovation and their ability to research and develop economies, close attention should be paid to the state of infrastructure.

But the sad fact is that a UNESCO report on the state of R&D infrastructure in African institutions of science and technology training, mainly universities, found that:
* very few universities in Africa are in a position to stock their libraries with quality scientific journals
* few university staff has access to computers in their offices – even those teaching computer science
* many of the libraries in African universities do not have computers,
* in some universities the equipment dates from the early 1980s
* the average age of laboratory equipment for basic sciences is almost 12 years, and almost 16 years for engineering sciences.

Given the significant changes in lab technology in the past 10 years, African institutions are clearly handicapped in all areas of experimental science compared to their counterparts in other continents.

It is crucial for developing countries to engage in R&D. Now there is consensus regarding the effectiveness of science and technology as an instrument for sustainable development. Knowledge and innovation, for example, play an increasingly vital role in the fight against poverty. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, specifically called for investments supporting the capacities of developing countries to engage science and technology to fight poverty. And recent statements from the G8 urge support for science and technology (S&T) capabilities in African countries.

Investment in research, education and innovation – the so-called knowledge triangle – lies at the heart of successful economies throughout the world. It is widely accepted that R&D investment drives innovation and economic growth, and that countries that invest in research and innovation have consistently higher rates of economic growth and higher levels of productivity. And this is even more pronounced when aligned with a well-functioning innovation system.

It is this that enables the creation of more jobs and higher incomes. Yet the capacity of economies to transform their investments in research, education and innovation into economic growth, varies sharply from country to country. Clearly, the challenge is to ensure, not only that levels of research and innovation are increased, but also that such investment translates into economic benefits, and that the innovation system itself operates efficiently.

From my perspective, African countries are increasingly recognising the critical role the private sector plays in R&D and technological innovation. In recent years, we have seen many African nations revising their policies and laws to create attractive environments for private sector development, and private participation in national development. Some countries are also creating policies and legislative measures to promote private sector investment in R&D. These efforts include the strengthening of intellectual property protection laws and institutions; the provision of tax relief to companies that spend a certain proportion of their budgets on R&D; and the establishment of science and innovation parks. In this respect, many developing countries have many lessons to learn from developed countries, where the private sector, especially multinational corporations, invests significantly in R&D.

Multinationals play a significant role in research and development globally. In 2002, for example, they accounted for about half of the R&D spend worldwide, and for more than two thirds of all R&D in the business sector. The research and development spending of some large corporations is higher than that of many countries: Ford, Pfizer, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, and General Motors each spent more than US$5 billion on R&D in 2003. Among developing economies, only the Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Brazil exceeded that amount. By reforming legislative frameworks and attracting transnational companies, developing countries put themselves in a position to claim their share of this R&D investment.

In another change, while major corporations would previously have used R&D in developing countries largely to adapt products and processes to local markets, today the trend is increasingly moving towards original technological development for global and regional markets, and towards applied research. According to a United Nation (UN) report, from practically nothing in the mid-1990s, the share of South-East and East Asia in global semiconductor design reached almost 30 percent in 2002, thanks to the influence of the transnational corporations.

Former United Nation (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, observed that big business now views parts of the developing world as key sources, not only of cheap labour, but also of growth, skills and even new technologies. Foreign direct investment in research and development helps countries strengthen their innovation capabilities, and skills transfer enables them to perform more demanding functions, handle more advanced equipment and make more complex products.

But these benefits do not accrue automatically. The entry requirements into this league are so demanding that most developing countries are excluded. As you might expect, those who wish to host part of the R&D activities of transnational corporations must show evidence of strong technological capabilities. This in turn is heavily dependent on the skills of the human resource base and other issues, including the rules governing innovation activities and the capabilities of domestic enterprises.

For these reasons, sub-Saharan Africa is not currently one of the significant beneficiaries of international R&D spend. The region suffers from low levels of education, and deficits in basic technical and managerial skills. This creates a major barrier to both technological progress, and the transfer and adaptation of technologies. A recent study published by the World Bank shows that in 2005, only 28 percent of students in tertiary institutions in sub-Saharan Africa were enrolled in science and technology fields such as engineering, agriculture and medicine. This situation is worsened by the recruitment of our best brains to other parts of the world.

But there must be a way forward, and the starting point is the forging of strong partnerships between the developed and developing economies. Africa has a responsibility to increase its efforts to create an enabling environment for the continent, and so attract foreign investment in its R&D capacities. I am convinced that multinational companies that are truly committed to global sustainable development should consider relocating to Africa, or establishing new R&D capacities there. Such initiatives will be worthwhile, considering the significant opportunities to be gained in terms of market access, for example.

In this respect, it must be reiterated that the European Union (EU) has a long-standing history of supporting R&D co-operation with developing countries. It has done this through, for example, the international co-operation (INCO) development-orientated research programmes of the earlier framework programmes. Several member states also run active programmes related to science and technology capacity-building. Presently, we have the Africa-EU Strategy, a partnership in science, the information society and space co-operation. South Africa is fully behind this initiative and we are doing all we can to recruit the involvement of other African nations in its implementation. Through this and other initiatives, important results have been achieved. But much more could have been achieved through smarter exploitation of the synergies between research and development co-operation programmes.

In the light of its past experience and the range of policy and funding instruments at its disposal, the European Union is well placed to assume global leadership in the crucial role of supporting science and technology co-operation with developing countries. Currently, a strategic, politically enabling environment exists, but this needs to be fully exploited to realise the full potential of the EU as a force for progress.

Tangible interventions aimed at strengthening the partnership are needed. These might include:
* Support for technology transfer to African countries. In other words, EU technologies may be adapted, where appropriate, to enhance economic and social development programmes.
* Support for science and technology capacity-building in African countries. This means the strengthening of Africa's own knowledge generation capabilities through research training and human capital development programmes; funding for research infrastructure and equipment, or support for policy development in dealing with issues such as intellectual property rights.

It is also, perhaps, time to explore how existing instruments, such as the FP7, could be made more relevant to support the invigoration of the EU-Africa science and technology co-operation. For example, the current FP7 Marie Curie mobility instruments, and specifically the incoming and outgoing international fellowships, are great initiatives. Perhaps they need to be restructured to improve developing country participation. The fact is, very few European researchers use these fellowships to go to developing countries, and only marginally more developing country researchers use them to spend time in Europe.

There could be several reasons for this relatively low uptake. It is more than possible that European researchers, eager to advance their careers, do not see developing countries as attractive science and technology destinations. On the other hand, in view of the critical skills shortages, faced with losing their researchers for periods of up to three years at a time, organisations in developing countries are also not very enthusiastic to participate.

Perhaps the answer is for Africa and Europe to agree on strategies which could, for example, provide for shorter-term exchanges to ensure greater researcher mobility between the two continents. And clearly, Africa has a responsibility to market its R&D attractions better to potential EU fellows. My country has certainly benefited greatly from global R&D partnerships, most significantly with the European Union.

According to the OECD, the level of R&D funding for South Africa from abroad is the highest of all non-OECD countries considered in the 2008 report, at 13,6 percent. It is thought this could be attributed to South Africa's special position and competence as a host for major international medical, biological and astronomical research undertakings such as the African office of the European Developing Country Clinical Trials Partnership, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology component in Cape Town, and the Southern Africa Large Telescope. South Africa is also one of the most successful developing country participants in the European Union's Framework Programme.

The internationalisation of South African research during the first 15 years of our democracy, and the bolstering of our science and technology capacities to support our national growth and development programmes, owes much to our partnership with Europe. We want to thank you for that.

EU interventions such as the Sector Budget Support, from which the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) is receiving support for its S&T for poverty alleviation programmes, also serves as a productive example of Africa-EU co-operation.

We believe channelling the European Development Fund to deserving science and technology programmes, as part of the EU's co-operation with the African Regional Economic Communities, could have a big impact on African development. We hope this forum will put its weight behind this and many other initiatives you have with developing countries.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
4 March 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)