The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, arrived in Vienna this morning, 18 November, to attend the 13th General Conference of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). TWAS is a global science academy which aims to advance science and engineering for sustainable prosperity in the developing world.
The Conference coincides with the 26th TWAS General Meeting, which Minister Pandor will also attend. She is scheduled to speak at a ministerial session on sustainable development this afternoon.
Other speakers at the session include Dr Vaughan Turekian (Science and Technology Adviser to the US Secretary of State), Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck (Senegal's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment), Dr Harald Maher (State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy, Austria), and Prof. Jin-Pei Cheng, former Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (representing Minister Gang Wan).
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Pandor will have a bilateral meeting with her Austrian counterpart, Dr Reinhold Mitterlehner, the Federal Minister for Science, Research and Economy.
On 19 November 2015, Minister Pandor will leave Austria for India to participate in the 43rd Carnegie Group Meeting in Gurgaon from 20 to 22 November 2015.
The Minister will join ministers from France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest.
About TWAS
The World Academy of Sciences is an autonomous international organisation, founded in 1983 by a distinguished group of scientists from the South, under the leadership of the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan. It represents the best of science in developing countries. Its mission is to promote scientific excellence and capacity in the South for science-based sustainable development.
About the Carnegie Group
The Carnegie Group is an informal group designed to bring together the science ministers and advisors of the G8 countries and the EU to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest. While remaining faithful to the original design envisioned by its founders, it has also adapted to changing circumstances and to the growing importance of the emerging economies of China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.
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