Dr. Khalid Al-Qusaibi: Advanced Technologies Contribute to Raising the National Economy Competitiveness
Dr. Al-Suwaiyel: Scientific Publication in the Kingdom achieved 217% Growth during Four Years.

3/1/1433

       Activities of the Second International Advanced Technologies Forum 2011, were launched today morning, under the Patronage the Custodian of the Holy Mosques, at  King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) headquarters among distinguished prominent scientific gathering of decision-makers, advanced technologies stakeholders in the kingdom besides specialists and speakers from local and international scientific centers and international leading companies in fields of advanced technologies.
Events of this forum were inaugurated by Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al-Qusaibi, Minister of Economy and Planning, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, KACST President in the presence of Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and a good number of high-ranking officials from various sectors of the country. 
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Al-Qusaibi, emphasized that advanced technologies have become an essential factor in achieving a high added value and raising competitiveness of the national income and its varied activities underlining the rise of advanced technologies based exports on the world level from 15% in the seventies of the last century to 30% at the current time.
The Minister of Economy and Planning stressed that the Saudi economy long-term strategies up to 2025 adopted objectives that concentrate on having knowledge particularly in fields of advanced technologies, adding that the ninth development plan (2010-2014) stipulates orienting towards the knowledge-based economy and fostering pillars of the information society.
Dr. Al-Qusaibi pointed out that the ninth development plan states that moving towards the knowledge-based economy necessitates integrating activities through spreading out knowledge, transferring, generating and producing knowledge besides functioning and investing it in the various activities of production and developing these activities.
Dr. Al-Qusaibi revealed that to achieve all this, the plan approved a number of objectives; the most important of which are going on increasing financing research, development and innovation as per what is stated in ‘Science and technology National Policy” to be up to 2% of the total national production by the fiscial year (1445h- 1446h).

 Dr Al-Suwaiyel, by his turn, said in his opening speech of the forum, that KACST works at the current phase on evaluating the first quinquennial plan   that ends by the end of this year 2011 disclosing one of the main indicators of scientific publication that grew in the kingdom during the period 2007 – 2010 by the percentage of 217% compared to other nations such as China that registered 155% growth, Iran that registered 184% and Turkey that registered 144% growth in this field.
KACST President stressed that scientific publication citation percentage in the kingdom on the world level registered 5,1 while China registered 5,4 and Turkey 4,91% , adding that scientific papers in kingdom registered 2500 scientific paper in 2007 and redoubled in 2010 to more than 5000 scientific paper.
Dr Al-Suwaiyel revealed that the science, technology and innovation expanded quinquennial plan 2015 targets pushing the kingdom to the countries van-guard in the area as well as it aims by 2020 that marks finalizing the third quinquennial plan to place the kingdom at the front of the Asian countries in science, technology and innovation then by 2025, the kingdom turns into knowledge-based society and economy supported by innovation national array capable to compete on the international level.
 KACST President lauded the government’s industrious efforts to transfer the country into a scientific and technological society that is keen to develop knowledge that are represented in doubling number of universities and its excellence on the world level including establishing King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), Prince Nora Bint Abdulrahman University and King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Institute, adding that  that National Plan for Science Technology and Innovation (NPSTI) that has been approved came as result of collective work  exerted by KACST, Ministry of Economy and Planning and Planning, Ministry of Finance and other governmental bodies.

Then the forum commenced its activities for first day that included three scientific sessions. Prince Dr. Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammad Al Saud, KACST Vice President for Research Institutes gave, in the first session, an elaborated presentation on Kingdom’s National Science and Technology Plan, its achievements during the previous period and its future vision that targets building-up knowledge-based society and an economy supported on an innovation national array capable to compete on the international level. The first session was also shared by Dr. Alain Tubiana, Member of the Board, the official association France Clusters who discussed European Science, Technology and Innovation Initiatives taking France as an example.
The second session chaired by Dr. Abdulaziz M. Al Swailem, KACST Vice President for Scientific Research, reviewed the best Science and Technology Initiatives in three Arab countries. Dr. Mohammed Al-Rashed, Director of Water Resources Division at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, explained Kuwait experiment in Science and Technology fields. Dr. Abdelali Haoudi, Vice President of Research, Qatar Foundation reviewed in the second paper  Qatar’s science and technology advancement while Dr.Khalid ELZahaby, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Members Affairs, National Building Research Center of Egypt, presented the third and last scientific paper in this session through which he identified the audience with the Egyptian experiment in Science, Technology and Innovation.
The third and last session of the first day, chaired by Dr. Ahmad Yamani, Chief Technology Officer, Saudi Investment General Authority (SAGIA) concentrated on international collaboration projects and their progress through three scientific papers. The first of which was presented by Dr. Hamid Torabi, Director, IBM Research Middle East and Africa, who presented IBM vision for building a smarter planet.
The second paper was presented by Dr. Ossama Emam, Manager of Human Language Technologies Group, IBM Egypt who elaborated on the experiment of collaboration with IBM in fields of Arabic human language technologies. Activities of the first day were concluded by a scientific paper shedding light on the experiment of collaboration with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that was presented by Dr. Jun Yu, professor and Associate Director Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS.
Activities of the forum are resumed tomorrow whereas KACST researchers and specialists would present KACST’s initiatives in these fields, innovating and marketing programs besides presentations on innovation and technology marketing techniques given to be followed by reviewing Saudi universities leading initiatives in this field.