TEHRAN – The will of Iran and Turkey for expanding scientific cooperation can be a role model for other Islamic nations, Hasan Mandal, the president of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), has said.

Emphasizing the need to boost collaboration between knowledge-based companies of the two countries, the Turkish official said science and technology parks can also enhance relations, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran with Deputy Science Minister Vahid Haddadi-Asl, calling for industries to help universities and scientific centers upgrade the level of cooperation. 

A total of 47 research projects are being jointly carried out and the two sides are ready to add 30 more projects in different fields, especially in the water sector.

The Iranian official, for his part, said that 47 research projects are being carried out jointly by the two countries, and the two sides are ready to add 30 more projects in different fields, especially in the water sector. 

Science diplomacy

One of the indicators of the growth of science diplomacy is conducting joint research between two or more countries, Iran has written more than a third of its articles in Scopus in 2020 with international participation, which is about 30.7 percent.

In 2019, the articles with international participation reached 27.4 percent, so compared to 2019, Iranian researchers increased their international scientific contributions by 3.3 percent. It should be noted that in 2020 more articles were published internationally by Iranian researchers, but nevertheless, the amount of international participation has increased.

Scientific growth 

Studies show that Iran entered the year 2022 with the 15th rank in science production worldwide and it is expected to make progress over the next years.

In reviewing scientific products, various indicators such as publication of articles in prestigious international journals, citations, validity of journals, the level of productivity, and scientific impact of scientists are considered quantitatively and qualitatively.

According to the latest information on science production, Iran is ranked 15th in the world in the international system of Web of Science in 2021, with an h-index of 383, which indicates the quality of Iranian articles registered.

Iran’s scientific position in the Web of Science over the last 5 years shows that the production of conference papers has been on a downward trend during 2020 and 2021 due to the outbreak.

MG