Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation of the Republic of Congo*, and the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will sign an agreement to reinforce Congo’s capacities in scientific and technological innovation, a key to the country’s economic and social development. The signing will take place on 17 December.
With $400,000 in funding from Congo, UNESCO will implement the agreement over a period of three years, to help research and innovation become motors of the country’s economic, social, human and cultural development. This will involve updating information about research and innovation in the country, developing appropriate policy instruments and enhancing the standing of the sector.
The agreement is part of longstanding cooperation between the Republic of Congo and UNESCO in the sciences. In 2004, Congo requested UNESCO’s support in the development of a national science and technology policy. This led to the adoption of an action plan for 2010-2016. The new agreement reinforces existing programmes by focusing on modernization and industrialization.
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M.Itoua is also at the helm of the Fifth African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST).
Media conctact: Agnès Bardon, UNESCO Press Service, +33 (0) 1 45 68 17 64, a.bardon(at)unesco.org