UNESCO and the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation to strengthen cooperation in Cambodia

On 5 November 2020, Senior Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, H.E. Senior Minister, Kitti Settha Pandita Cham Prasidh, and UNESCO Representative to Cambodia, Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation to promote Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in Cambodia.

During the meeting, Mr. Sardar Umar Alam briefed H.E. Senior Minister that, UNESCO, as the UN agency with a specific mandate for science, provides technical assistance to Member States in developing national STI policies, reorient STI policies to adopt holistic frameworks, and strategically link with other sectoral polices such as education, environment and health. In order to ensure that scientific progress is fostered at all levels of governmental decision-making, UNESCO promotes the development of science governance structures and mechanisms.

Mr. Sardar Umar Alam further discussed with H.E. Senior Minister on UNESCO’s programmes and initiatives in the field of scientific cooperation, including Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO→SPIN), Open Science, mainstreaming women in STI, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethics, and digital innovation. UNESCO has a global network of institutions of excellence in its domains of competence, including Category 1 Institutes and Category 2 Centres and Institutes to provide Member States with capacity building and policy advice to strengthen scientific cooperation, and knowledge production and exchange, especially for developing Countries.

H.E. Senior Minister welcomed UNESCO’s collaboration and support, and UNESCO will continue to work closely with MISTI to strengthen cooperation for STI in Cambodia, taking into account country-specific context and nurturing Science-Policy-Society interfaces, for poverty eradication, social and economic progress and sustainable development in Cambodia.