Iranian VP Attends UN Tech Meet

EghtesadOnline: Speaking at the United Nation’s Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) — a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council — Vice President for Science and Technology, Sorena Sattari, provided data on academic and knowledge-based economic growth in Iran.

News ID: ۷۷۶۱۵۴

13 May 2017

At the conference in Geneva, Sattari said “Iranian knowledge-based businesses generate $9.1 billion annually,” CITNA reported.

“Since 2010, 3,000 Iranian knowledge-based companies have been created,” he said.

He also addressed the highly critical issue of Iran’s economic reliance on oil and gas exports. The latest official statistics indicate that income from oil and gas has a 30% share in the budget for the current fiscal (started March 20), according to Financial Tribune.

Sattari said Iran is trying to increase the share of technology-based products and curb the oil industry’s share in the economy.

According to the official, Iran’s scientific rank has risen to 16 from the previous 34. He also said that the number of students entering the higher education system annually has doubled and stands at 4.8 million each year.

The commission provides the UN General Assembly with advice on relevant science and technology issues.

The CSTD brought together over 200 people from 60 countries, including science and technology ministers, renowned scientists, and representatives from national governments, private sector, civil society, regional and international agencies, and the academia to the Swiss city for the meeting.