Your Excellency, Minister Dimitri Sioufas;

Your Excellency, Ambassador Momberg;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen

We are signing this Science and Technology agreement with Greece filled with great anticipation as we recall the cultural, educational and scientific cooperations between particularly ancient Egypt and Greece. Those early transfers and subsequent exchanges of knowledge and expertise have contributed significantly towards the development of the modern day world.

Your ancestors’ contribution to law, philosophy, architecture, sculptures and education is well documented and appreciated the world over. The Greeks have also bestowed on the world a very rich legacy upon which the foundations of our democracies are premised. The works of Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras have undoubtedly influenced the thinking and developments in modern day politics, science and mathematics.

In like vein, I perceive this day to be another milestone in strengthening the linkages that were established between the early pioneers in the fields of science and technology. We certainly conceive the Science and Technology Agreement between our countries as a critical instrument that will further cement our ties.

Since 1994 when South Africa became a democracy, our government had set for itself the important goal of being a noteworthy part of the global community. To this end, we would like to cement good relations with like-minded countries in our attempts to develop our country, and consolidate our democracy. We are therefore very pleased and encouraged to work with you, given the important role that Greece continues to play in the EU. We hope that this agreement will further help to take our science and technology system to another level, which will assist us in our quest to develop innovative solutions that can impact positively on the development of our country and the lives of our people.

Generally, the African continent is grappling with serious challenges of poverty and underdevelopment. This situation is further aggravated by forces of globalisation, which compel us to swim or sink. If we can swim, we will not be able to remain afloat for long if our neighbours and region remain down under. Global economies are economies of scale. They also depend on regular injections of new knowledge and expertise. Hence, we need to pull along our neighbours for the purpose of pooling regional resources and capacities to sustainable levels. My officials are working very closely with their regional and continental counterparts to place science and technology at the centre of our developmental efforts. To fully realise this goal, we have developed good relations and partnerships in the context of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

South Africa, including the entire continent, does not want to be left behind in the highly competitive global race whose pace is dictated by intense innovativeness and knowledge generation. By formalising our joint efforts, we hope to create an enabling environment for sharing of skills and exchange of knowledge amongst key players in our science systems in order to maximise our ability to respond to socio-economic challenges in our countries.

In order to create an enabling environment for scientific endeavours to thrive, in 2002 we produced the National Research and Development Strategy, which is the brainchild of the 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology. Since then, we have developed other policies and frameworks to give effect to the recommendations contained in the strategy. These include, among others, the National Biotechnology Strategy, the Advanced Manufacturing Strategy, the Nano-Technology Strategy, and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategy is due to be finalised soon. We are hopeful that these strategies and interventions will help position our science system in the right direction.

We remain confident that through these policy interventions we will position our National System of Innovation to attract more scientists of note to South Africa, and to encourage more of our young people to enter and remain in science and technology careers. In order to correct past imbalances, we need to attract more women and Black researchers into our science system. It remains a challenge for us to develop a critical mass of next generation scientists that will be capable of holding their own among their international peers. Human capital development is a central theme in our plans; hence we expect the exchange programmes that will be taking place between Greece and South Africa to also assist in this regard.

We are looking forward to concretising programmes and projects through which interaction between our science communities in critical areas such as Agriculture; Industry, Health; Information Technology, energy, and climate change will be encouraged and promoted. A collaborative relationship of this nature is expected to go a long way in helping us to deal with our domestic and continental challenges and obligations.

I am equally hopeful that we will work together in various multilateral forums to leverage opportunities for our respective science systems. I have noted also the role and contribution that Greece continues to play at the EU level, especially with regard to its Framework Programmes. We hope to explore ways of enhancing our relationship to a comparable level.

Finally, I would like to thank all the officials and political representatives who worked tirelessly to ensure the signing of this Agreement becomes a success. In particular, I wish to express my gratitude to the Greek Ministry of Development and the General Secretariat for Technology and Research, our Embassy here in Greece, the Embassy of Greece in South Africa, the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, and officials in my department for making this meeting a resounding success it is.

I thank you.