The UN General Assembly has officially established a Technology Bank to accelerate the technological Advancement of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Mr Gyan Acharya, UN High-Representative and Under-Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) disclosed this in a statement in New York.
Acharya said the new UN institution was viewed as a significant achievement for the development of science, technology and innovation in the world’s poorest countries.
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He said the Technology Bank is intended to help least developed countries strengthen their science, technology and innovation capacities, foster the development of national and regional innovation ecosystems that could attract outside technology and generate homegrown research and take these advancements to market.
The Bank would be financed by voluntary contributions from Member States and other stakeholders, including the private sector and foundations.
According to the resolution, it is expected that the Bank would begin operations in 2016 with the headquarters in Turkey.
The Bank aims to assist the world’s poorest countries in building their national and regional capacities in the areas of intellectual property rights and technology related policies.
It also aims to facilitate the transfer of technologies on voluntary and mutually agreed terms and conditions and in the process, accelerate the least developed countries integration into the knowledge-based economy.
The initiative had been supported by the UN Office of The High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States since 2011 when Istanbul Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries was adopted.
Nigeria should focus on using the Bank’s funds to support entrepreneurs not university research. What is needed in the country is translation of ideas into innovation and not really the accumulation of new knowledge.