Speaking notes, Naledi Pandor MP, South Africa Minister of Science and Technology, research infrastructure panel at the third BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting, Moscow, Moscow
Thank you Chairperson.
Honourable Ministers,
Ambassador Cardim,
Ladies and gentlemen
I think it's appropriate that research infrastructures were selected as theme for this panel discussion, preceding the start of our BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting later this afternoon.
Global research infrastructure projects enjoy “flagship” status, largely as a result of their scope (e.g. focused on global challenges or frontier research such as astronomy projects) and their large scale, and concurrently also command high levels of public interest. It is important to consider how these attributes could best be leveraged in the interest of global science.
The location of global infrastructure in Africa should be strongly encouraged because it would enhance the alignment between global support for science (through investment in global research infrastructures) and sustainable international development.
In an emerging global science system the absence of global research infrastructure in the developing and emerging world will further enhance the current assymmetry in scientific resources, thereby undermining the pursuit of sustainable development.
Let me share with you some details about South Africa’s national research infrastructure, specifically the large-scale facilities, which could contribute to the BRICS partnership initiatives we will develop.
In the area of astronomy, there is not only the MeerKAT radio telescope, which South Africa was constructing as part of the global Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, but also the Southern African Large Telescope, the single largest optical infra-red telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. Our Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory is also an active contributor to global very long baseline interferometry observations.
Other infrastructures in the physics field include facilities for basic and applied research using particle beams at our iThemba Labs facility or indeed the Safari research reactor used for high-level nuclear physics.
Other flagship South African research infrastructures include our facilities in the marine and polar research field, such as our Agulhas II icebreaking polar supply and research vessel or the SANAE IV research base in Antarctica.
One of South Africa’s comparative geographic research strengths is biodiversity and we have extensive biodiversity information facilities including bio-banks. Comprehensive data-sets from clinical trials or economic and social survey also constitute parts of the South African research infrastructure portfolio.
South Africa is also investing significantly in e-Infrastructure or cyber-infrastructure, essential for the conduct of science in the 21st century. This includes our Centre for High-Performance Computing and our dedicated high-speed South African National Research Network. We are also developing the necessary capacity to support the management and analysis of large datasets.
However, international partnership and strategic relations, such as those with our BRICS partners, remain essential to permit our research and innovation community access to the requisite infrastructures.
First of all, the construction and operation of large-scale or mega-science facilities, due to factors of cost and complexity, is difficult for countries to achieve on their own. International cooperation is imperative. Examples of transnational projects, such as the International Experimental Fusion Reactor (ITER), the Large Hadron Collider or the Square Kilometre Array bear testimony to this. A BRICS partnership, which will permit more strategic coordination and planning for our investment in large-scale facilities, will therefore be a valuable asset. We therefore support and will participate in the proposed BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network.
International cooperation is, however, also critical to permit us the more effective utilisation and exploitation of existing facilities. Where countries have small user communities for a specific infrastructure, rather than investing in the development of their own facilities, it would be more effective to promote transnational access to research infrastructures.
Collectively we have a rich and diverse portfolio of research infrastructures in the BRICS nations and we should develop appropriate mechanisms to facilitate reciprocal access for our researchers to each other’s facilities, especially for young scientists as part of human capital development programmes.
Our BRICS partnership should also permit a sharing of experience and expertise with regard to the management of operations at large-scale facilities. Indeed policy learning with regard access and exploitation of research infrastructures should be an important focus of the GRAIN Network.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that mega science facilities, by bringing together scientists and experts from all over the world, play a valuable role in building international friendship, improving transnational communication and understanding, and reinforcing solidarity. They are an essential element in sustainable growth and development globally, consistent with the vision for our BRICS partnership.
