India
November 10, 2005
Wagdy Sawahel,
Scidev.Net
India is to host a US$7 million
centre to provide biotechnology training and research
opportunities for scientists from across Asia.
The centre, which was given
official backing by UNESCO last month, will also be a hub for
biotechnology research, promoting South-South cooperation.
The Indian science ministry's
department of biotechnology will run the centre, which is likely
in the capital New Delhi, although this has not yet been
confirmed.
India is contributing core funding
for the centre, but once it is set up, the government will seek
additional funds from UN agencies and other international
bodies.
In addition to holding
biotechnology training courses, the centre will hold
international conferences and workshops. It will also set up a
central database of information on Asian biotechnology research.
By promoting networking between
researchers in different countries, the centre aims to encourage
collaborative research and development programmes between
research centres in Asia.
Anwar Nasim, president of the
Federation of Asian Biotech Associations and chair of Pakistan’s
National Commission on Biotechnology, welcomes the initiative's
policy of strengthening South-South cooperation.
Asian countries such as India,
China and Malaysia have shown increasing competence in
agricultural and health biotechnology, he told SciDev.Net,
adding that such nations would benefit by sharing their
knowledge and experiences.
Biotechnology capabilities vary
widely among Asian countries, however, and if they compete
rather than work together, this could be a barrier for
technology and knowledge transfer.
But Nasim said that such
international competition occurs all over the world.
"In a way, this [competition]
could be healthy, and an incentive for the weaker partners to
try and catch up," he said. "However those countries that are
ahead hopefully will be generous enough to carry others along."
Nasim added
that agencies such as UNESCO (the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) should intervene to make it easier for
scientists to get visas to travel between India and Pakistan. |