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Address by Minister Mangena at the Signing of the Agreement on Science and Technology between South Africa and Slovakia

15 May 2006

Venue: Sheraton Hotel

Honourable Minister Szigeti
Your Excellency, Ambassador Pavol
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, 15 May 2006, marks an important day in our collaboration with the signing of the Agreement on Science and Technology between South Africa and Slovakia. Indeed a milestone to celebrate in our collaboration with Central Europe and more specifically Slovakia. I am convinced that the signing of our bilateral agreement will result in a partnership that will be mutually beneficial to our countries.

A recent visit by Deputy Minister Hanekom, accompanied by a technical delegation to Slovakia, has confirmed that a bilateral cooperation agreement on science and technology between our two countries will be of great value to South Africa. Slovakia has a long history of excellence in scientific research especially in areas such as mathematics and theoretical physics. Both these areas are of great importance to South Africa and critical areas for building a generation of young scientists.

We have noted with keen interest that the Slovak Government has recently launched the Minerva Programme whose vision is to elevate Slovakia’s living standard to reach that of the western countries as quickly as possible. The four pillars of the Minerva programme are:

• Investment in people and education
• Innovation in science and research
• Creation of an information based technology society
• Development of the business environment

Certainly all the pillars are of interest to us in South Africa. In South Africa the pivotal role of Science, Technology and Innovation was signalled in 2004/2005 with the establishment of a stand-alone Ministry of Science and Technology. This young Ministry was recognised as an important player in our national strategy for economic growth and social development to address issues in both the first and second economies of South Africa.

A key challenge for the science systems in both our countries would be to assist scientific research and activities that could lead to innovation and thereby contribute to economic growth and to address the socio-economic challenges of each of our countries.

Among the many activities to showcase our international partnership in Science and Technology, we have a biennial exhibition, the International Innovation Science and Technology Fair (INSITE). The next INSITE would be in September 2006 and I wish to extend an invitation to your Excellency for Slovakia to participate.

We are proud that today will mark the addition of Slovakia to our bilateral cooperation especially in light of Slovakia’s new status as one of the members of the ‘new 10’ of the EU. We can, without doubt, state that the Agreement to be signed today between our two countries will contribute to the SA National Research and Development Strategy by investing in our people for the development of human capital in Science and Technology.

We are keen to proceed with the implementation of this Agreement as well as the establishment of a Joint Committee to ensure dual facilitation in the implementation of the Agreement. We will also look at the establishment of a Programme of Cooperation leading to concrete projects and institutional partnerships. Another important aspect of our joint collaboration and human capacity development would be the call for research proposals leading to human capacity building in science and technology.

The recent visit to Slovakia has emphasised that there are a number of potential areas around which to develop concrete projects. The current visit of the Honourable Minister Szigeti and his delegation will further serve as an opportunity to discuss areas of collaboration.

Honourable Minister, ladies and gentlemen, with these few words I wish to conclude and once again state that I truly believe that the signing of our Agreement, today, will lead to a further milestone in the growth of knowledge for a better quality of life in our respective countries. Best wishes for the remainder of your stay in our beautiful country. Please enjoy our hospitality and let us know if there is anything we can do to ensure that your visit is productive and enjoyable.

I thank you! p>