Programme Director;

Prof. A Ninomiya, of the University of Hiroshima; Co-Chair of the SA-Japan Universities Forum;

Prof. Cheryl de la Rey, Co-Chair of the Forum;

Ambassador Furuya;

Prof. ED Malaza, CEO of Higher Education of South Africa;

Prof. L Nongxa, Chair of HESA's Research Strategy Group;

Presidents and Vice-Presidents of Japanese Universities;

Vice-Chancellors and Deputy Vice-Chancellors of South African Universities;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen

South Africa and Japan have a long history of trade. Over the years, they have strengthened relations through a range of educational, cultural and industrial exchange programmes. In 2006, the South African Deputy President introduced Japan to South Africa's programme for acquiring scarce skills to drive its industrial development programme.

The Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition, or JIPSA, is a key programme of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, which aims, among other things, to increase our economic growth to 6% over the next three years. Our legacy has left South Africa unprepared to generate the skills required to drive this type of growth, let alone transform her economy into a knowledge-based one.

JIPSA recognises that South Africa's leading trade partners, such as Japan, have already walked down this development path, and are willing to work with us to accelerate our economic development. We have called on our trading partners to be active participants in meaningful programmes, and we appreciate the willingness of the Government and people of Japan to assist in this regard.

There can be no doubt that the South Africa-Japan Forum continues to advance mutually beneficial cooperation intended to uplift the people of South Africa, and assist them to shed an unbearable yoke of poverty and underdevelopment. In this regard, we can never overstate the pivotal importance of knowledge production and human capacity development. This is reflected in our national strategic priorities, as well as my Department’s Ten-Year Innovation Plan.

We believe the challenge of human and social dynamics is one of the most important we face, as it is at the core of nearly every major challenge facing South Africa – from climate change to creating a competitive and innovative workforce. Probably, the greatest challenge of all for us is to increase our ability to anticipate the complex consequences of change, to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of both human and social behaviour at all levels, and the cognitive and social structures that create and define change, as well as help people and organisations manage profound or rapid change better.

Once more, the importance of Japan's unique position as a partner to South Africa in terms of its research, innovation and economic success cannot be overemphasised. There is no doubt that science and technology offers a great deal to address current and future challenges in the areas of health, food and energy security, especially in the light of major global challenges.

We believe forums like this one afford us an opportunity to contribute to, and possibly influence some of the deliberations at the coming 2008 G8 Summit, and the 4th Tokyo International Conference for Africa's Development (TICAD IV).

TICAD IV, in particular, has the potential ‑ through the joint effort of the Government of Japan, the United Nations, the Global Coalition for Africa and the World Bank ‑ to keep Africa's development at the top of the international agenda. Through this and other platforms, we must continue to garner support for our continent.

We are convinced that whatever our socio-economic, political, ideological and religious differences, our countries share a sense of urgency to use science and technology to address common threats to our existence, and that the South Africa-Japan Universities Forum is a particularly valuable platform for cooperation in this regard.

We must continue believing in the significance of collaboration between our countries' higher education institutions, and between our respective governments and the private sector.

The current energy challenges facing South Africa give us an important opportunity for cooperation with Japan. We believe it will take more than a decade to solve our electricity crisis, and ensure stability with sufficient reserves. Government has committed to a change in the mix of energy sources, driven by key advances in cleaner fuel technologies, and the realities of global warming. The projections of the working group on the build programme for Eskom, reveal that over the next 20 years, an estimated R1,5 trillion in the power-generation infrastructure will be required to meet the country's energy requirements, but in order to build reserves, we need to invest more.

A significant part of this mix is nuclear energy, and a demonstration plant for the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, or PBMR, is being developed. It is highly likely that whoever wins supply tenders for the PBMR and the Pressurised Water Reactor projects planned by Eskom, will work with Mitsubishi Japan, which has the level of experience and infrastructure to execute such projects.

The establishment of an engineering and technology institute in South Africa, funded by the Japanese industrial magnates, has been proposed. The rationale for this institute would include the following:

·       The current output of South African universities will not meet our country's technical skills requirements. Importing skills through the JIPSA will close some significant gaps, but will not begin to address our long-term needs.

·       Outside the energy sector, there is significant private-sector demand for such skills for the long-term. We need to build a critical mass of skills to cater for the build programme for the next 15 years. The proposed facility could run as a private institute with the correct Council for Higher Education accreditation, funded through the Japanese investment programme and linked to the supply development programme.

·       The facility could run programmes tailored to the requirements of the build programme, and offer international apprenticeships at partner operations across the world. The focus would be on producing researchers with grounding in commercial aspects of technology, intellectual property protection, and the generation of new knowledge.

·       The programmes would be offered by international experts, and geared towards higher degrees and research outputs. The retirement age in Japan is 50 (or below), and there would be significant capacity for leading industry participants to become involved in offering teaching blocks or supervising research.

These are just some of the proposals that have been placed on the table for further cooperation between the governments, higher education institutions and businesses in Japan and South Africa.

Our Japan technology partners appreciate the impacts of science and technology on a rapidly growing economy. The Japanese also understand the economies of scale, and how they can give a country a sustainable advantage.

This Forum gives us the opportunity to determine to what extent our investment commitments with Japan will address the challenges we face, such as poverty, unemployment, disease, energy, skills shortages and underdevelopment.

We are confident that the South Africa-Japan Universities Forum will succeed in all its endeavours. May your deliberations bear fruit for both our countries.

Thank you for your attention.