UN Opens Technology Bank in Turkey to Help Poor Nations

The United Nations on Monday opened a technology facility to help address the development challenges of the world’s poorest countries through science, technology and innovation. It also marks a significant milestone for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

“Technology has to diffuse to all communities to enable them to leapfrog traditional development challenges,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the launch of the new UN Technology Bank in the Turkish city of Gebze; about 30 miles southeast of Istanbul, the country’s commercial hub.

The idea of establishing a capacity-building institution dedicated to the least developed countries (LDCs) came out of the LDC Istanbul Conference in 2011 and was included in the world’s action plan to eliminate poverty when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by UN Member States in 2015.

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The following year, the UN General Assembly approved the creation of the Technology Bank, which is listed among targets under Sustainable Development Goal 17 on partnership.

The launch of Technology Bank marks the first SDG target to have been officially reached, among the 169 targets that have been set as part of the 2030 Agenda.

According to Acting Managing Director, Heidi Schroderus-Fox, the Bank is already starting its work in 16 LDCs, with STI reviews and technology needs assessments under way in Guinea, Haiti, Sudan, Timor Leste, and Uganda.

Projects aimed at improving digital access to research are also underway in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania, she said.

Courtesy: UN