South Africa and Tanzania will sign a bilateral agreement in Tanzania on 8 April. This will provide a framework for cooperation in science and technology.
The agreement will be signed in Dar es Salaam by the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, and her Tanzanian counterpart, Professor Makame Mbarawa.
Also to be discussed at the meeting are possible programmes by Tanzania to support the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array.
A recent study has shown a relatively low level of investment in research and development in Tanzania with 0.24% of Gross Domestic Product being invested in research and development. This provides significant opportunity for South Africa, thorough the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to provide support to Tanzania in developing its science and technology system, thereby strengthening regional integration in the science and technology sector.
For this reason, the development of research and development at higher education institutions, among others, has made foreign support a must for that country to be able to build capacity.
The country is nevertheless reviewing its national innovation system and conducting a thorough analysis to improve economic development and competitiveness.
The DST has held consultative workshops with Tanzania on developing policies on science, technology and innovation, and has hosted a number of technical visits in this regard from 2008 to 2010.
Tanzania also stands to benefit from South Africa’s leadership in a number of science, technology and innovation initiatives in Africa, through the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The DST has also managed to leverage international partnerships from Australia and Germany to support these initiatives in the region.
The visit will also provide the Minister with an opportunity to discuss issues relating to the upcoming SADC ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Namibia in May 2011.
It is expected that South Africa will host a technical delegation of senior officials from Tanzania in the second quarter of 2011 to map out priority areas of cooperation and agree on joint resources to fund the activities. It is intended to use that visit to discuss a three-year plan of action.
Enquiries:
Tommy Makhode
Cell: 082 379 8268
Source: Department of Science and Technology
