TEHRAN – Iran House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) in the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was inaugurated on Sunday.

The center aims at introducing knowledge-based, technological, and creative products of Iran to Uzbekistan, and facilitating scientific interactions and cooperation between the two countries, IRNA reported.

Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, Rouhollah Dehqani Firouzabadi, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, officially inaugurated the center in an online ceremony.

The private sector has invested about $4 million to establish the iHiT Tashkent.

The two sides signed a technological cooperation agreement worth $10 million in the field of energy under the support of the house of innovation and technology.

Exporting technological products of Iranian knowledge-based companies is one of the important and key programs of the vice presidency for science and technology, and in this regard over the 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 innovation houses.

In February, President Ebrahim Raisi said science and technology are the cornerstones of national development.

The chain of knowledge, research, innovation, and technology ensures sustainable development in the country, he added.

“Our interaction with all nations and governments in the world should be for the transfer of knowledge and technology, and our interaction with all neighboring countries, in the region and globally, should be based on this criterion,” Raisi highlighted.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology was formed in 2006 with the aim of creating an environment for supporting knowledge-based companies and providing the ground for the development of technological industries.

The country’s progressing process of development has accelerated with the emphasis on the formation of the technology and innovation ecosystem and the approval of laws for supporting knowledge-based companies and boosting Iran-made products.

Today, we are witnessing the positive effects of adopting the approach in the economy, culture, and daily life of people.

The national budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year 1402, which started on March 21, has earmarked about 37 trillion rials ($74 million) for science and technology.

The bill increased the budget by 35 percent compared to the previous year’s budget, ISNA reported.

Improving the scientific level of society, achieving high global rankings in the number of scientific articles, references, and patenting, reducing the illiteracy rate, and increasing the number of university courses and students are only a part of the achievements after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

According to the latest statistics, more than 8,000 knowledge-based companies are operating in the country.

MG