Nigeria, Turkey Others Build Online Presence for Technology Transfer

Nigeria, Turkey and six other nations operating under the auspices of the D-8 have established a web presence that will make it easier for members to share or transfer technology.

Dr. Umar Bindr, director general of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), disclosed this at the opening of D-8 Technology Transfer & Exchange Network in Abuja yesterday.

Bindr said with the web presence, it would be easier for any entity both in the private and public sectors to make enquiry on any technological development and get response from nations within the members of the group without waste of time.

He said for many years, Nigeria and other developing nations had been looking up to Europe and the Western world for technology transfer without any success, adding that it was time for D-8 members to collaborate on technology evolution and sharing.

He stated: “The whole idea is that members of D-8 can collaborate in technology matters. Some of the members have highly developed technologies. They are manufacturing automobile; they are manufacturing aircraft; they have high-tech in information technology and so on.

“Therefore, these eight countries have decided to move technology between them to enhance development, to ensure that we can develop together. So, this meeting in Nigeria brings together the eight focal point transfer networks so that we can start discussion.”

He added, “For over a hundred years we have looked to the western countries for technology and it has not done us a lot of good. We have not succeeded in learning the technologies that are in the West. Now we have the platform to share what we have among these nations.

“In Nigeria we have perfected technology at the bottom of the pyramid level. This has been recognised in South Africa. We have technology that you can roll to your farm and process your cassava for instance. What we have not learnt is how to protect and transfer technology. We must learn how to push technology to the highest level.”

Dr. Adbu Bulama, minister of Science and Technology, said the need and desire to synergize, cooperate and exchange technology information among the D-8 member countries led to the formation of the Technology Transfer and Exchange Network.

Bulama said, “The network is expected among others to generate opportunities for introducing technology based products and services into the global markets and commercialization of research results for sustainable growth and development of member states.

“This meeting is therefore aimed at consolidating on the resolutions of the first meeting and facilitating easy access to information by member countries from the network.”

He charged the network to identify and consider appropriate technologies and projects that would strategically enhance local production capacity and national development especially in energy, food and agriculture, health delivery and infrastructure development.

D-8 is a grouping of countries classified as developing nations that meet to share ideas on development across different sectors of the economy. Apart from Nigeria and Turkey, other members of the group include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan.