President Mubarak inaugurates TWAS 16th General Meeting
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Alexandria, 1 December 2005—The 16th General Meeting of the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS), 30 November – 3 December 2005, hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), was inaugurated by President Hosni Mubarak.
President Mubarak welcomed the participants and the scientists attending the 16th TWAS General Meeting. He stated that it is an honor that the BA was chosen to host the TWAS Regional Office, as the BA is considered a “center of science and knowledge, a center of dialogue among cultures and civilizations, and a symbol for the continuity of human heritage.”
He stated that “at the beginning of the 21st century, we face various challenges especially in science and technology,” and that “the gap between the North and the South is increasing, as well as the digital divide.” In response to this, he called for “the interaction of science and scientists in dealing with these challenges in Egypt, the Arab world, and the developing countries.”
President Mubarak then highlighted Egypt’s efforts in expanding the base of scientific research through five main points: “first: developing policies for supporting scientific research, second: developing human resources by improving education, third: building new state of the art and independent research centers while supporting the existing ones, fourth: enhancing the relation between the country, the private, public sectors, and civil society organizations in order to finance the scientific researches, and finally, facilitating appropriate means for the transfer of technology from the advanced nations while creating North-South and South-South cooperation.”
President Mubarak concluded his speech affirming that Egypt and the Arab world has progressed significantly in science and technology and that we have to keep faith in God and in ourselves.
The opening ceremony witnessed the presentation of prizes and medals to the outstanding researches in various fields including agricultural sciences, engineering sciences, biology, earth sciences, medical sciences, mathematics, chemistry, as well as physics.
A speech by Mrs. Paula Dobriansky, the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, USA, was followed by lectures on “Women in Science and Technology” by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, and “Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Developing Countries”, by Dr. Raven.
The panel of discussion that took place, during the day, was chaired by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, focusing on the “New Initiatives in Promoting Science Education and Research in Developing Countries”. Among the attendants were HE Amr Salama, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; S. Rezende, Minister of Science and Technology; K. Toukan, Minister of Education and Higher Education for Scientific Research; A.U. Rahman, Chairman [Federal Minister], Higher Education Commission; K.R. Sreenivasan, Director of Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics; K. Kasturirangan, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies; and Q. Zhu, President of the University of Science and Technology.