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OAS Assistant Secretary General Calls on the Hemisphere to Invest More on Science and Technology

The Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert R. Ramdin, emphasized the significance of scientific and technological knowledge in the economic and social development of countries around the world and regretted the low levels of investment by governments of the region in these areas. Ambassador Ramdin spoke today during the inaugural session of the Sixth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Science and Technology (COMCYT).

“At the OAS we believe that our hemisphere’s future, in terms of its competitiveness, relies on having a workforce highly skilled in mathematics and science and technology,” Ambassador Ramdin said. “We believe that if we want to increase productivity, bring development to the people and empower them to find greater opportunities while at the same fighting poverty and all of the other challenges our countries are facing, we have no choice but to make greater investments in science and technology.”

The Surinamese diplomat referred to a study of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) that shows that, among industrialized countries, a great percentage of economic development is due to the high levels of productivity that are the result of great scientific and technological progress. At the same time he questioned the fact that “in this hemisphere, despite acknowledging these critical areas in promoting development, and the value of investment in science and technology particularly at the secondary school level, the reality is that these investments have fallen behind those of almost all other advanced countries.”

To face this situation, Ambassador Ramdin proposed that governments improve their cultures of entrepreneurship and innovation following initiatives in three areas: educating young citizens on the value of science and technology; promoting greater understanding of the role science and technology play in the development of our economies; and sensitizing citizens and legislative bodies and policy makers to modern technological trends. “In conclusion, Member States need to demonstrate the political will and understanding to act expeditiously on the importance of science and technology for the sustainability of our societies and to create an environment for progress.”

For his part, the Minister of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of Argentina and President of COMCYT, José Lino Salvador Barañao, spoke about the “differences and common challenges” shared by countries of the Americas, some of which already are developing economies that rely on scientific and technological knowledge, tools with which they have “successfully transformed knowledge into wealth and prosperity,” while others lag behind in this process.

The Minister named the road towards greater social inclusion, the development of human resources, the struggle against fundamentalism and the production of food at the global level as challenges that can be addressed through education in this area. On the last point he said that, according to studies, in the year 2050 humans will have to produce as much food as they have throughout their entire history, a problem that could be solved through the adoption of new technologies that lead to improvements in the efficiency of food production.

Among initiatives that can be conducive towards the alleviation of these possibly great challenges, the Minister referred to at least one involving young people. “One of the tasks to be undertaken is to make the new generations aware of this change that has occurred in the global economy: that technology brings possibilities of moving up, not only by obtaining employment in existing enterprises but by creating new ones,” he said.

The Sixth Regular Meeting of the COMCYT is being held September 9 and 10 at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

For more information, visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-322/10