South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and the Republic of Tunisia have agreed to scale up science, technology and innovation cooperation.
The agreement was signed by Mondher Belaid, Tunisia’s minister of higher education and scientific research, and professor Blade Nzimande, in his capacity as SA’s minister of science, technology and innovation.
The partnership, referred to as the “scaling up Tunisia − South Africa strategy”, was established during Nzimande’s official visit to the North African nation.
According to a statement, the cooperation includes an action plan and joint research call meetings.
The focus areas of the action plan include an exchange programme, networking and inter-institutional cooperation, a joint research programme, intellectual property rights, knowledge and skills transfer in innovation, participation in international programmes and governance.
Emphasising the strategic importance of this cooperation agreement, Nzimande says: “I wish to express our appreciation for the cordial relations between South Africa and Tunisia, and thank the Tunisian Embassy in South Africa for the excellent work they have done in keeping our partnership alive.
“The emerging geopolitical environment presents us with a number of complex challenges, including a growing push towards unipolarity by some countries, through bully tactics. We therefore hold the view that African countries must intensify sub-regional science, technology and innovation cooperation and through this, mobilise more coherent support for the implementation of the African Union’s Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa.”
According to the DSTI statement, the partnership builds on existing cooperation between SA and Tunisa, and further enables the countries to intensify the development of sustainable solutions to address old and emerging continental challenges. These includes youth unemployment and skills development, healthcare, food sovereignty, water and energy security, climate change and biodiversity loss, and digital transformation.
The delegation accompanying Nzimande included senior officials from the ministry and the department’s entities, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Technology Innovation Agency and National Research Foundation, as well as experts from the Council for Mineral Technology.
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