Special Envoy of the President, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, has called for transferring technologies between countries to address challenges like climate change.
Representing the Maldives at the 14th General Assembly meeting of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTEC) in Islamabad, Mr Zaki spoke on the importance of scientific knowledge and technological innovations for development and good governance.
“One of the key challenges that remains for a country such as the Maldives, which wants to move forward, is access to knowledge and technical know-how.
“We need to learn from countries that have achieved and conquered,” Mr Zaki said.
Special Envoy Zaki told the audience that as an island nation the Maldives has unique challenges that required the use of scientific knowledge and technological innovation.
He said, “Whether it is provision of telemedicine when we have people living on 200 islands separated by sea, or whether it is establishing a nation-wide transport system to facilitate trade and contact, or whether it is developing floating houses where land is scarce, or whether it is establishing distance-learning facilities, scientific innovation is crucial for us.”
In his address, Mr Zaki called on OIC Member States to lead innovation of low carbon energy options in addressing negative impacts from climate change.
The COMSTECH was established in 1981 in promoting cooperation among OIC Member States toward greater industrialisation and socio-economic development.