ADDIS ABABA–As part of the India-Ethiopia bilateral partnership in the area of science & technology, the two countries have agreed to establish the “India-Ethiopia Center for Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialization.” This announcement was made during the recent 6th DST-FICCIGlobal R&D Summit 2019 held in Hyderabad, India on 21-22 February 2019.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, India’s Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, launched the program along with his Ethiopian counterpart Minister of Innovation and Technology, Dr. Eng. Getahun Mekuria, who was a special guest of honor at the Summit.
The theme of the Global R&D Summit 2019 was ‘International Collaboration in Research and Development for Sustainable Growth’. Africa was the partner continent and other than Ministers from Ethiopia and Zambia, senior officials from Rwanda, other delegates from African continent and 200 institutions, academic centers of excellence and R&D experts of India participated in this Summit.
The India-Ethiopia Center for Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialization would aim to deploy at least 50 demonstrated and validated Indian technologies and innovations over a period of five years. The joint projects/ventures thus created with Ethiopian partners will deliver at least 50 sustainable small & medium enterprises to stimulate job creation and economic growth in Ethiopia. The Center would create an ecosystem to foster innovation and equip future entrepreneurs with requisite skills to contribute towards economic and social development of Ethiopia. Technologies and innovations offered through this Center would focus on sectors like agriculture, food processing, energy, waste management, education, information technology, healthcare, etc. The program will be implemented by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce in coordination with Ministry of Innovation & Technology, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The innovation program with Ethiopia is conceived as part of India’s commitment under the India-Africa Forum Summit-III held in October 2015 in New Delhi. It is inspired by the ten guiding principles of India’s engagement with Africa as outlined by India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. It may be recalled that in November 2018, as part of a similar initiative, the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship was set up in Djibouti to support and train youth and equip them with requisite skills as future entrepreneurs.
Source: The Embassy of India, Addis Ababa