TEHRAN – Iran is ready to establish a house of innovation in Uzbekistan in a bid to broaden bilateral cooperation in the field of technology, Vice President for Science and Technology, Sourena Sattari, has said.

The Iranian house of innovation will be established in cooperation with the private sector, IRIB quoted Sattari as saying on Tuesday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Minister of Innovative Development Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov.

“The achievements of the two countries in the field of biotechnology, common views, and the desire for mutually beneficial cooperation are of particular importance,” said the Iranian vice president. 

Over the few past years, the Iranian houses of innovation have been set up in Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, Kenya, Armenia, and Iraq.

“We are ready to scale up the production of innovative products as part of start-up projects, by financing start-up and scientific projects in the field of biotechnology, creating conditions for joint scientific work of our scientists, as well as commercializing the results of scientific work. I believe that investments in this area will serve to further develop innovative entrepreneurship in accordance with the interests of both countries,” he explained, according to the portal of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Innovative Development.

In turn, Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov said that following his trip to Iran in March this year, cooperation was established with more than 20 Iranian companies, research institutions, and innovation infrastructure facilities. He noted that Sattari's visit to Uzbekistan will provide an opportunity to further expand this cooperation.

A total of 35 leading Iranian innovative companies operating in the field of medicine, animal husbandry, food industry, and other fields took part in an exhibition with their innovative products and projects. 

Within the framework of the exhibition, meetings of business representatives of the two countries were organized in the “B2B” format in order to further strengthen cooperation between businessmen of

Uzbekistan and Iran, and establish mutually beneficial relations in such areas as agriculture, animal husbandry, medicine, IT, and the food industry.

Over the few past years, with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Iranian houses of innovation have been set up in several countries to develop the global market for knowledge-based products.

These centers have already been set up in countries such as Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, Kenya, Armenia, and Iraq.

By supporting innovative ideas, and holding technological and innovative events, the centers will be a platform for the development and promotion of Iranian knowledge-based companies, startups, and creative industries.

The centers are mainly formed with the investment and support of the private sector to provide the necessary infrastructure for their exports through the innovation houses.

Mehdi Ghalehnoei, an official with the vice presidency for science and technology, said in February that in the past Iranian calendar year which ended on March 20, knowledge-based companies gained about $800 million in revenue from export, and in the current year, the figure seems to reach up to $2 billion.

Africa, neighboring countries, Southeast Asia and Eurasia are our export target priorities, and we hope to create Iranian innovation and technology in all these areas, he added.

MG