Arab Forum for Scientific Research and Sustainable Development

Research and development are the most important generators of knowledge and major knowledge transfer channels within knowledge-based economies systems; so that the partnerships among universities, research & development institutions on the one hand and nationalization aided by public policy and private sector investment on the other, is crucial in the use of this knowledge. In recent decades, developed countries and major international players became aware of this fact, and they significantly expanded their expenditures on research and development, on both public and private sector levels. Similarly, some developing countries in East and Southeast Asia became aware of this fact, and hence increased their spending on science, technology and innovation, and achieved high growth rates and job creation. In the Arab world, scientific research activities have emerged and expanded under the pressures of social demand, yet their link to the actual economic needs has been and still is rather weak. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase and strengthen partnerships and linkages among the sectors of education, RDI1 and economy in the Arab world. There is also the need to promote communications with, and to benefit from, global expertise and the Arab Diaspora.