Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari met with Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Mauro dell’ Ambrogio in Tehran to hold talks about expansion of bilateral collaborations.
Iran and Switzerland seek to expand cooperation in science and technology. Details of the matter in hand were discussed in a meeting between the two sides on Wednesday, reported Azad News Agency.
Sattari, a staunch advocate of knowledge-based economy and startup growth, reiterated “the promotion of startups” as one of the best channels for strengthening mutual ties.
The official pointed out that Iran is keen to expand and enhance its startup and technology ecosystems, adding that “we strive for developing the technology ecosystem by building more science parks and startup incubators, using the youth and student population. We seek to provide the young generation with jobs and business opportunities through expansion of the necessary infrastructure.”
He also mentioned efforts to improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem by establishing firms in technology parks and startup incubators.
China, Russia and Austria are countries with which Iran already collaborates in various fields of technology, and Spain is to join the club in the near future, as stated by Sattari.
He further highlighted the Islamic Republic’s great potential in fields of stem cells, biotech and information and communications technology, naming them as potential fields of collaboration with Switzerland.
Efficient Teamwork
During the meeting, Ambrogio announced Zurich’s interest in shaping “effective and efficient cooperation” with other nations, including Iran, acknowledging the large capacity of the two countries for developing bilateral relations in science and technology.
“Switzerland is interested in forming technological collaborations with Iran, especially in areas of technology ecosystem, startups, technology transfer and exchange of knowledge,” the Swiss official said, also pointing to possible university collaborations.
He underlined the need for a new model to execute this plan through cutting red tapes and decreasing the burdensome paperwork so that interactions get ramped up and time and funds are used more economically.
Commenting on President Hassan Rouhani’s forthcoming trip to Switzerland, Ambrogio said, “We hope that after the trip, mutual collaborations begin to expand as soon as possible, and flourishing ties are witnessed.”
Switzerland’s Ambassador to Iran Markus Leitner, who was also present at the meeting, underscored Zurich’s prowess in intellectual property and expressed willingness to share the knowledge with Iran.
“We have companies and organizations able to help Iran by making investments and promoting startup ecosystem,” added the Swiss envoy.
