Luanda - Angola and Algeria plan to increase cooperation in the science, technology and innovation (STI) field through scientific research and renewable energy programs.
The intention was expressed last Monday, in Geneva, Switzerland, during a meeting between the minister of Higher Education, Science Technology and Innovation (MESCTI), Maria do Rosário Bragança, and the Algerian minister of Knowledge Economy, Start-Ups and Microenterprises, M. Yacine El Mahdi Oualid.
On the occasion, the Angolan government official expressed the country's interest in developing start-ups from universities, with the aim of Angola and Algeria carrying out joint scientific research projects.
At the meeting, attended by the permanent representative of Angola to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Margarida Izata, the minister argued that, in this phase of reinforcement, cooperation can begin by connecting the different ministerial departments.
He suggested, thus, appointing a joint team to prepare a memorandum that will define the two countries' intentions.
For his part, the Algerian minister, who considered Angola as a historical and strategic friend of Algeria, suggested the search for consistent strategies for countries to share their experiences in the field of science, technology and innovation.
He recalled that the two countries have a partnership in the energy sector, which allowed many engineers from the Angolan oil company Sonangol to be trained in Algeria.
“You can start by looking at topics of interest, focusing on specific areas of mutual cooperation, such as scientific research programs on oil and gas, analyzing what both countries can do in the energy sector, including investment in renewable energies”, he highlighted.
Regarding cooperation between universities, Yacine Oualid raised the possibility of a partnership between the technical universities of Algeria and Angola, aiming to develop joint programs in the field of scientific research.
“Algeria has 105 universities and an incubator in each of these universities”, said the government official, according to whom his country has adopted a strategy that involves encouraging universities to create businesses, taking advantage of the creativity of university staff.
In this sense, he stated that Algeria is giving researchers and university professors the opportunity to create their own businesses and emphasized that his country intends to hold a business forum between private sector companies from the two countries.
Maria do Rosário Bragança, who, in Geneva, participated in the 27th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, held from the 15th to the 19th of this month, also held a meeting with the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan.
At the meeting, the minister expressed Angola's intention to continue cooperation in areas such as training, diagnostics, science, technology and innovation.
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