TEHRAN – Ambassador of Syria to Tehran Shafiq Dayoub has said that technology transfer from Iran and its indigenization is a priority for Syria.

The achievements of Iran is a motivation and a successful model that developing countries can follow, he added.

In a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with Iranian Science Minister Mansour Gholami, the Syrian official emphasized that the realization of scientific advances in the field of economy and, more importantly, the transfer of these valuable experiences must be considered by developing countries.

Setting up research laboratories, holding joint scientific conferences and seminars, boosting scientific skills training cooperation, exchanging students and professors as well as experiences, offering joint guidance of master’s and doctoral dissertations, and publishing scientific articles in journals of the two countries were among the fields of cooperation discussed at the meeting, ILNA reported.

The Iranian minister, for his part, referred to the importance of scientific cooperation between Iran and Syria, saying that “We are interested in good cooperation between the two friendly countries of Iran and Syria in various scientific and research fields.

Many Syrians have studied and graduated in Iran, and a large number of them are currently studying in Iranian universities, he noted.

He went on to say that in the fields of nanotechnology and biotechnology, Iran is among the top 10 countries in the world, expressing readiness to enhance cooperation between professors and students of the two countries.

Referring to the successful science and technology parks in Iran, he noted that educated and specialized young people, along with university professors, develop their technological ideas with the support of parks and become startups that meet the needs of society and even export the product to other countries.

All countries need to develop such centers to withstand the hostile behavior of the colonial powers, which generally oppress many nations these days, he stated.

The fact that our country has been able to resist the oppressive sanctions over the past three years is very much due to the valuable services and scientific achievements made by the youth and local experts, he highlighted.

In this meeting, the development process of scientific and technological cooperation between Tehran and Damascus and the challenges in this regard were addressed.

Technology development in Iran

Despite sanctions putting pressure on the country, a unique opportunity was provided for business development and the activity of knowledge-based companies in the country.

Currently, some 5,000 knowledge-based companies are active in the country, manufacturing diverse products to meet the needs of the domestic market while saving large amounts of foreign currency.

The fields of aircraft maintenance, steel, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, oil, and gas are among the sectors that researchers in technology companies have engaged in, leading to import reduction.

In recent years, the vice presidency for science and technology has been supporting knowledge-based companies active in the production of sanctioned items.

Sourena Sattari, the vice president for science and technology, told the Tehran Times in October 2020 that “U.S. sanctions caused exports of knowledge-based companies to decline three years ago, however, it has returned to growth and is projected to reach the pre-sanctions level of more than $1 billion by the end of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 20, 2021).

Fortunately, last year, companies achieved a record sale of 1.2 quadrillion rials (nearly $28.5 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials), which is expected to increase by 40 percent this year.”

To date, 42 knowledge-based companies with a total value of 2.8 quadrillion rials (nearly $66.6 billion) have been listed on the stock exchange and they will soon turn into the biggest businesses in the county, Sattari said.

FB/MG