Science is Golden

Illustration by Adam Billyeald

In 2005, UNESCO's Science Report identified the Arab region as the least R&D intensive area in the world. Moreover, rather than focus on scientific innovation at home, Arab nations spent a staggering trillion dollars importing scientific and technological knowhow over the past three decades.

Now, a number of these nations are shifting their attention to developing regional R&D. Earlier this year, the 22 nations of the Arab League approved a 10-year plan to boost scientific research. It calls for member states to raise their allocation to science twelvefold to 2.5 percent of GDP—more than the average 2.3 percent spent by developed nations.

Arab political leaders are laying down the foundation for a strong scientific community. "It is a substantial step forward," says Mohamed Hassan, director of the Third World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy. "If there is a political will to regionalize and internationalize initiatives, it would be of great benefit to the Arab world. The worry is that these [initiatives] will remain localized."