Sana'a: Acting Prime Minister Mohammed Miftah reviewed the research activities of the General Authority for Science, Research, Technology, and Innovation on Tuesday, as well as its support for youth and their innovative projects. The Acting Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Health and Environment, Dr. Ali Shaiban, and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Mohammed Al-Mahdi, visited the researchers' workshops and the Authority's project exhibition.
According to Yemen News Agency, Mohammed Miftah met with the Chairman of the General Authority for Science, Research, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Munir Al-Qadi, his deputy, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Houri, and several of the Authority's sector heads. The meeting addressed the Authority's current situation and its efforts in supporting innovative projects, directing scientific research towards national priorities and localizing industries, as well as the challenges facing the Authority and ways to mitigate them to enhance its role and overall performance.
The Acting Prime Minister commended the Authority's efforts and its commitment to working in accordance with national priorities, directing that the construction sector be included among the Authority's national priorities. He expressed optimism about the industrial models that the Authority has localized manufacturing, considering them evidence of the Yemeni youth's capacity for innovation and genuine investment opportunities to bolster the national economy.
Mohammed Miftah emphasized that one of the Authority's key priorities for success is preserving and enhancing the efforts already made in certain projects through research and development to achieve optimal results, building upon the work of others. He stressed the importance of avoiding involvement in aspects that waste time and effort without yielding results, emphasizing the need to work ambitiously on projects that support the Authority by aligning with priorities and market needs.
The Acting Prime Minister pointed to the necessity of compiling a list of projects that participated in previous seasons of the annual competition for creative and innovative entrepreneurs, identifying those that have transformed into startups as inspiring models. He noted the Authority's need to identify struggling projects, their needs and potential for support, as well as projects that have failed and the reasons for their failure, considering this a crucial reference for sustaining innovation.
Mohammed Miftah also emphasized the importance of transforming projects into opportunities and marketing them effectively to contribute to the development and expansion of the Authority's activities. The Chairman of the Authority reviewed the Authority's projects since its inception, focusing on directing scientific research towards national priorities and localizing technological industries in the agricultural, health, and energy sectors. He explained that among the most important projects the Authority is focusing on in these areas are solar dryers, grain silos, industrial kilns, and 5-kilowatt wind turbines. He also highlighted the Authority's projects to support and encourage youth innovation, most notably the annual competition for creative and innovative projects and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Olympiad.
Dr. Al-Qadi addressed the most significant challenges facing the Authority and the importance of providing the necessary support to achieve its goals in localizing technological and research industries, given the Authority's fundamental role in achieving a knowledge-based economy.