Export of goods and services of knowledge-based companies to Muslim countries is planned through collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Iran’s vice president for science and technology said.
Sorena Sattari said “Iran is poised to facilitate the presence of its knowledge-based companies in the Muslim world market,” the website of the Vice Presidency Office for Science and Technology quoted him as saying.
Sattari was speaking at the first OIC summit on science and technology held in the Kazakh capital Astana. President Hassan Rouhani and his chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, participated in the Sept. 10-11 event.
In an address to the leaders of the Islamic world, Rouhani called on their governments to join hands in building scientific cooperation in the interest of a tech-based economy. Iran is willing to share its experience with OIC states in key scientific areas, he said.
The gathering adopted OIC’s 10-year plan of action on science and technology dubbed the ‘OIC Science, Technology and Innovation Agenda 2026’.
Sattari echoed the president’s comments saying the main goal of the summit was to create a strong and effective platform for scientific and technological collaboration between Muslim nations.
“Student exchange programs and conducting joint research are among the goals set by the OIC 2026 Roadmap.”
He further said that Iran’s knowledge-based economy is gradually improving and thousands of companies have been established and new products introduced. However, Iran still has a long way to go in commercializing these goods and finding the proper export markets, he said.
On a hopeful note, he added: “The government is striving to augment the sector’s exports through its ties with the OIC.”
Shared values and beliefs between Muslim nations is of special significance and should be used by Iranian companies to expand their interaction with the OIC member states, he noted.
One of the leverages of Iranian products in Muslim countries market is that the goods are marked as ‘Halal’ — which refers to what is permissible or lawful in Islam. The mark insures practicing Muslims that using the goods would not be religious trespass.
Furthermore, some Muslim countries like Turkey have been able to increase their share in the market by promoting their products as “Muslim-made”.
President Rouhani told Muslim heads of state and government attending the Astana summit that his government is in the process of shifting the focus of the economy away from the export of oil and natural resources to one based on innovation, creativity and productivity.
Tehran’s strong support for knowledge-based firms has led to “significant scientific achievements and enhanced non-oil exports.”
Rouhani said paying greater attention to scientific and technological growth along with closer scientific collaboration can help Muslim governments develop their economies and at the same time offer hope to the youth, which in turn will “eliminate the roots of extremism and terrorism.”
The two-day summit was held on the theme of “Science, Technology, Innovation, and Modernization in the Islamic World”, with the participation of 53 leaders from OIC member states and international organizations.
Heads of states from Turkey, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan along more than 50 ministers from OIC member states participated in the event.
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