SA's science and technology ministry will look to strengthen ties with the US in a bid to boost local science, technology and innovation initiatives. This is according to minister Naledi Pandor, who is participating in the US-SA Business and Investment Forum this week.
Pandor was invited to Washington DC by US-based academic, scientific and philanthropic organisations to participate in high-level science-related engagements.
Speaking during a panel discussion on SA's economic drivers, Pandor highlighted the "critical role" of innovation in the country's growth and development strategies, including establishing partnerships with the US public and private entities.
"The decisive defeat of poverty, inequality and unemployment require concerted investments in knowledge and innovation. Science and technology partnerships with international partners such as the United States have an important role to play in this regard, and promoting such cooperation is the objective of my visit," Pandor said.
She added that partners could find investment opportunities in SA's health innovation, energy and ICT research initiatives.
The minister also highlighted the contribution that projects like the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope could have in growing the amount of knowledge workers on the continent. She also said, without elaborating, that there were human needs that science and technology should help to address.
Bilateral relations
According to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Pandor will today hold bilateral talks with Dr John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and US president Barack Obama's most senior science advisor.
Other organisations involved in strengthening ties with the US include the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which promotes education and scientific philanthropy initiatives.
The National Academy of Sciences will work with SA's National Research Foundation to investigate how partnerships can help facilitate Africa's development, according to the DST.
Share