TEHRAN – Focusing on the role of knowledge-based companies in the industrial development of Iran, the country’s National Conference of Advanced Industries was held in Tehran on Monday.

The conference was attended by officials, scholars, experts, and representatives of the country’s knowledge-based companies.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the event, the Conference Secretary Sina Sanjari criticized the lack of communication and coordination among the entities active in the field of knowledge and technology in the country.

“Although institutions and organizations such as the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Center for Progress and Development of Iran, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology are active in the development of new technologies, they are not aware of each other's achievements and sometimes work in parallel,” Sanjari said.

“In order to make the best use of the existing technological knowledge in the country and to inform the responsible institutions about each other's achievements, we try to have the representatives of each of the mentioned institutions and organizations in the Policy Council of Technological and Advanced Industries of Iran,” the official added.

Sanjari furthered stressed the need to use modern technologies in competition with the world and stated that identifying the technological capabilities of the country's industrial companies in the private, semi-governmental and governmental sectors is one of the goals of Iran's technological and advanced industries.

“Our priority is to develop technologies that are needed for the development of the important areas such as automobiles, petrochemicals, and steel, so this conference is intended to be a forum to introduce the achievements of researchers and domestic companies in these areas,” he explained.

Knowledge-based companies and creative startups have grown over the past five years, and Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index, according to the UNESCO 2021 Report.

The Global Innovation Index in Iran from 2015 to 2019 has risen from 106 to 61 with continuous improvement, showing 45 steps growth.

Currently, many knowledge-based companies are active in different fields, ranging from information and communication technology to health, agriculture, and energy.

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Photo: The Secretary of Iran’s National Conference on Advanced Industries Sina Sanjari (1st L)