President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called for more support to science and technology, which constitute the cornerstone of social and economic progress in the developing countries, and a pillar for achieving sustainable development.
The president explained that this fact is reflected in Egypt’s Vision 2030, where science, technology and innovation play a key role in achieving sustainable development, being integral part to all aspects of the nation’s renaissance, which also include eradicating poverty and making education available to all, as well as preserving the environment, people’s health and water and energy resources.
President Sisi made these remarks in his speech at the second Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) on Science and Technology, held in UAE. Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar delivered the speech on behalf of the president through video-conferencing.
In the address to the opening session, Abdel-Ghaffar conveyed President Sisi’s greetings to all summit participants.
The president congratulated the UAE for assuming presidency of the OIC summit on science and technology.
President Sisi also highlighted the challenges facing the entire world as a result of the Covid-19, noting that the pandemic offers a test for the world on how to deal with a health crisis, and the rules and frameworks governing relations among nations. He stressed in this respect the importance of education, science and scientific research.
The president referred to the importance of implementing recommendations of the first OIC summit on science and technology, which affirmed commitment by the OIC member states to alleviating the brunt of poverty, increasing education budgets, and joining efforts to achieve the goals of the OIC action plan for 2025, and the UN’s sustainable developments goals.
Meanwhile, the president referred to numerous educational national projects in Egypt such as building new universities, including technological ones, in addition to branches of leading global universities.