To build a more egalitarian globalization, cooperation in science, technology and innovation must be effective and go hand in hand with trade and investment agreements and the opening of intellectual property treaties, Mario Cimoli, Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development being held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
“Science, technology and innovation must be a fundamental part of trade and investment agreements between developed and less developed economies. This process goes far beyond voluntary declarations”, affirmed the highest representative of ECLAC during his intervention in the panel “Mobilizing and sharing science, technology and innovation for an SDG driven recovery”.
He underlined that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the relevance of health systems and scientific and technological capacities to be able to respond to the demands of the population, as well as to become true engines of technological and productive change for the countries. Developing.
He pointed out that although science, technology and innovation are essential for the recovery and development of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the economies of the region have poorly financed innovation systems, comparatively weak support institutions and policies and a production system that does not encourage the creation of capacities and innovation.
Mario Cimoli recalled that a lesson learned from the COVID-19 vaccination process is that the distribution of vaccines and scientific and technological cooperation did not reach the less developed economies.
For this reason, he stated, “the fundamental issue is how scientific and technological cooperation is carried out effectively. If it is not included in trade, investment and cooperation agreements, it will surely remain in a vacuum,” he said.
The Acting Executive Secretary of ECLAC also stressed the urgency of rethinking and moving towards greater openness of intellectual property treaties that allow developing economies to incorporate technology into production processes.
“Intellectual property is a fundamental factor that requires the transfer of technology from the most developed to the least developed country. It is a mutual learning process,” she noted.
The High-Level Political Forum is being held until July 15 under the theme “Building back better from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
The intergovernmental initiative, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, makes it easy for countries to review and report on progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On this occasion, progress will be reviewed on SDG 4 on quality education, SDG 5 on gender equality, SDG 14 on life under water, SDG 15 on life on land and SDG 17 on partnerships for the objectives.
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