By Burcu Tamga? M?rel, Associate Programme Management Officer, United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries
Collaboration is at the heart of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Technology Bank¡¯s mission, empowering the world¡¯s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with expertise and resources to promote Science, Technology, and Innovation for sustainable development. In Ankara, T¨¹rkiye this month, our team held a series of high-level engagements to strengthen established partnerships and explore new opportunities.
We held productive discussions with H.E. Aden Houssein Abdillahi, Ambassador of Djibouti to T¨¹rkiye, to align on the country¡¯s national development priorities following Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Technology Bank¡¯s recent Technology Needs Assessment for the country. A highlight of this engagement was the opportunity to meet with H.E. Mr. Said Nouh Hassan, Djibouti¡¯s Minister of Interior who shared his vision for future cooperation. The meeting focused on leveraging the outcomes of the assessment to support Djibouti¡¯s digital transformation and capacity-building initiatives.
Our meeting with H.E. Miles Armitage, Australian Ambassador to T¨¹rkiye, provided an opportunity to discuss the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Technology Bank¡¯s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Leadership Programme and Australia¡¯s potential role in empowering young innovators in Least Developed Countries in the Pacific region. The STI Leadership Programme aims to address the critical challenge of insufficient science, technology and innovation capacity in the world¡¯s 45 least developed countries. H.E. Yeondoo Jeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in T¨¹rkiye offered thoughtful feedback to boost the programme¡¯s impact. Our discussions also explored how Korea¡¯s significant expertise in Science, Technology, and Innovation could support LDCs.
In our meeting with Mr. Suleyman Yilmaz, Country Representative and Director of the Centre for Regional Cooperation in T¨¹rkiye, we focused on tapping into the organization¡¯s extensive knowledge repositories, innovation centers, and technical expertise and establishing stronger connections with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵIDO¡¯s field-based offices in LDCs. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵIDO is a specialized agency of the United Nations?with a unique mandate to promote, dynamize and accelerate industrial development.??
Ms. Isil Cemali Dogan, Deputy Director General for Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated T¨¹rkiye¡¯s commitment to multilateral collaboration to enhance STI capacities in LDCs. Our discussions there concentrated on aligning efforts to support LDCs in achieving their sustainable development goals.
In Ankara, we met Prof. Dr. Orhan Ayd?n, the new President of T?B?TAK, T¨¹rkiye¡¯s leading scientific and technological research council to explore ways to deepen our collaboration, and leverage T¨¹rkiye¡¯s expertise in research and development to address the challenges faced by LDCs.
This mission demonstrated the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Technology Bank's commitment to building strategic partnerships, accessing global expertise, and co-developing impactful programmes for LDCs. Discussions with ambassadors, government officials, and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵIDO reaffirmed the importance of multilateral collaboration in unlocking the potential of STI for the world¡¯s most vulnerable nations.