TEHRAN – The director of the Center of International Science and Technology Cooperation has announced the country’s readiness to share technology with the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.

“There are numerous collaboration opportunities in areas such as agriculture and artificial intelligence,” Amir-Hossein Mirabadi said in a meeting with Omar Ahmed Suwaina Al Suwaidi, the UAE’s first deputy minister of industry and advanced technology, in Tehran on Monday.

Visiting Iran's House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) the UAE official commended the capabilities and advancements of Iranian knowledge-based companies adding that the UAE is willing to cooperate with Iran in various fields of industry, and seeks to align the technological companies of the two countries, IRNA reported.

“In recent years, there have been positive developments in the region. In this regard, the country is interested in investing in various technological fields such as supply chain,” he said.

Mirabadi went on to say that one of our main goals is to boost cooperation among knowledge-based companies and large experienced companies to share ideas, technologies, and expertise.

Moreover, on the sidelines of a visit to the Iran Expo 2024 exhibition, the president of the Algerian chamber of commerce and industry (CACI), Kamel Hamani, visited iHiT, as well.

Lauding Iran's technological progress, he highlighted that visiting Iran's House of Innovation and Technology has made the Algerian delegation more determined to further collaborate with Iran.

The official added that all parts of the exhibition in iHiT were interesting, however, the Algerian delegation was mostly interested in medical equipment displays.

Iran's advanced economy is proved through domestically made products such as medical linear accelerator which has made it the fourth country to possess the technology after the US, England, and China.

Iran, Algeria to boost tech ties

On March 5, Iran and Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation in areas related to innovation and technology.

The MOU was signed in Tehran by Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, the vice president for science, technology, and knowledge-based economy, and Yassin Al-Mahdi Waleed, Algeria’s minister of economy, knowledge, start-ups, and small companies, the vice presidency’s website reported.

Sharing innovative experiences and achievements, sustainable and effective cooperation, promoting and expanding the innovation and knowledge-based economy, and developing effective joint channels to exchange technological knowledge and innovative solutions in fields of mutual interests are among the main objectives of this agreement.

The agreement ensures streamlined cooperation to encourage and support technology transfer projects and investment programs for new technology-based firms (NTBF) and start-ups in both countries; create a mutual financial fund for cooperation in innovation and knowledge economy; establish joint companies to carry out research and development projects, and commercialize knowledge-based products; strengthen direct communication between relevant government agencies, regulatory bodies, industrial or commercial organizations, as well as growth centers, accelerators, houses of innovation and technology.

To facilitate the implementation of the agreement, the joint scientific and technological cooperation committee will be formed with an equal number of representatives of both sides within two months after signing the MOU.

Under the agreement, the joint committee is to provide direction and guidance for the implementation of the MOU at most six months from signing; plan, coordinate, monitor, and facilitate scientific and technological cooperation between the parties.

Sharing technological expertise with Islamic nations

In May 2023, the deputy science minister said Iran is ready to share its technological expertise with other Islamic countries.

Science and technology should be applied in order to create world peace and human justice, and Muslim countries can bring peace and progress not only to the Muslim nations but also to human beings with unity and empathy, Vahid Haddadi-Asl said, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks at the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dialogue Platform (OIC-15) which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 25-26.

“Over the past years, despite the cruel sanctions imposed by the global arrogance against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have seen significant progress in the fields of education, research, and technology, which is a sign of reliance on Iranian scholars and scientists. We are always ready to share our technological expertise with other Islamic countries.”

MT/MG