His Excellency Bechir Tekkari, Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research;
His Excellency Professor Ahmed Mahjoub, Tunisian Ambassador to South Africa;
Senior government officials
Ladies and Gentlemen;
This day marks an important milestone in the area of science and technology cooperation between South Africa and Tunisia.
Our joint efforts date back to 1999 when we first signed an agreement on joint cooperation in the field of science and technology.
Today’s formal signing of the bilateral agreement is a major step forward in ensuring innovative collaboration and a mutually beneficial partnership that should further stimulate the growth of our economies.
Informed by a rigorous policy framework, my department plays a driving role behind the development of an effective South African national system of innovation. In an increasingly globalised economy, we cannot hope to achieve much without cooperating with countries that have worked in this space with important success, Tunisia being widely recognised as having established a top performing national system.
Because of the comparatively well-developed states of our respective national R&D and S&T systems, I am very excited at the potential that our cooperation has for advancing S&T on the continent and making major and joint contributions to the important ideals of the African Union, especially in respect of science and technology..
Tunisia is one of the most advanced countries on the continent in regard to science, technology, and innovation. The recently published Africa Competitiveness Report 2009 supports this statement.
According to this report, in a league table that included 33 African countries and 134 countries overall, Tunisia ranked first in Africa for innovation and thirtieth overall. It is an interesting development that African countries are showing signs of improvement.
In the same report South Africa is ranked thirty-sixth (second in Africa), and Kenya fiftieth (third in Africa).
At a multilateral level, Tunisia is the co-chair of the African Union-European Union (AU/EU) eighth partnership on science, information society, and space. South Africa, through the Department of Science and Technology, is the vice-chair of the eighth partnership.
In this area too, therefore, our partnership holds significant promise for the continent, and I hope you join us in our determination that we should provide leadership to AU member states through AMCOST in this respect.
We are encouraged by the state of development and focus of the Tunisian science and technology landscape.
For instance, the Pasteur Institute, founded in 1893, conducts medical research in the city of Tunis, which is also home to institutes for the study of veterinary science and geology.
South Africa, meanwhile, hosts the African Component of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) which aims to develop research and training activities on subjects of major impact for the African continent, focussing not only on infectious diseases like HIV-AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, but also on chronic (cardiovascular and cancer-related) and genetic diseases.
Two additional, important areas currently under development in the ICGEB are those of plant biotechnology and animal vaccines research, both of which are critical to enhancing and ensuring food safety and security across the continent. Since Tunisia houses the Pasteur Institute and is also a member of the ICGEB, we should develop joint research projects in the area of biotechnology.
As you may also know South Africa together with other 8 African partner countries is bidding to host the largest radio telescope in the world.
I am convinced that this bilateral cooperation will play a crucial role in boosting Africa’s bid to host the most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). In 2012 the consortium of the major international science funding agencies, in consultation with the SKA Science and Engineering Committee (SSEC), will announce the successful bidder to host the SKA between Africa and Australia.
The SKA is a science project with immense opportunities for advancing technology development, engineering and innovation in areas ranging from computing and ICT to the development of new materials to construct the satellite dishes, to innovative energy solutions to power the SKA.
At about 50–100 times more sensitive than any other radio telescope on Earth, the SKA will be able to probe the edges of our Universe. It will help us to answer fundamental questions in astronomy, physics and cosmology, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter. It will be a powerful time machine that scientists will use to go back in time to explore the origins of the first galaxies, stars and planets. If there is life somewhere else in the Universe, the SKA will help us find it.
South Africa has invested considerably in building a rich support base for research and development in a variety of fields like astronomy, space science and technology, climate site2016 science and biotechnology. Our policy is that public funded research should lead to the creation of products and services that will be patented and commercialised.
The bilateral agreement we sign today will surely give effect to the Consolidated Plan of Action adopted in 2003 by the African Ministerial Conference for Science and Technology.
The Plan outlines a strategy for research and development designed to facilitate greater responses to the social and economic needs of the people of Africa.
Already rich and dynamic discussions have taken place between our senior officials in mapping out a framework or plan of action for the implementation of the agreement. I hope that this plan will have clearly defined and strategic areas of mutual interest with key milestones to be achieved in the medium to long term.
It should however be stated that this agreement will find practical meaning only if the scientists, researchers and institutions of the two countries occupy the space created by this instrument. The positive outcomes of this cooperation will in the long run radiate to the entire continent and its peoples.
I thank you.
