According to the public relations and information center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs, Sorena Sattari, the vice president for science and technology affairs, pointed out the cooperation between Iran and Oman from a long time ago in a meeting with the Omani delegation, stating: relations between Iran and Oman have a long history, and numerous meetings have been held between the authorities of the two countries in the past three years.

He added: these relations have been developed in various areas, and must be also expanded in the area of science and technology, which is emphasized by high-ranking authorities of the two countries.

The vice president for science and technology affairs criticized the institutionalization of false culture of oil-based economy in Iran, expressing: despite the proper human infrastructures of the country, we have failed to increase the participation and effectiveness of the youth and university students of the country in gross national product of Iran.

Pointing out the increased number of university students since the Islamic revolution of Iran, Sattari affirmed: after the revolution, we had 270 thousand students in the country, which has increased to four million and 700 thousand individuals. However, despite the 16-fold increase in this number, we still have failed to properly use the potential of our youth in the growth of economy in the country.

He also asserted: we have 34 million young adults within the age range of 20-40 years. Therefore, there is an appropriate infrastructure for development of knowledge-based economy, startups and science and technology parks.

President of national elites foundation stated about the necessity of development of IT companies in the country: currently, development of IT, nanotechnology, biotechnology, stem cells and aviation companies is one of the most important priorities of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs.

Sattari continued: over the past few years, the reliance of economy of Iran on oil has decreased to below 20%, and we have aimed to minimize this dependency.

According to Sattari, connection between education and economy is one of the most important areas for development of science and technology in the country.

The vice president for science and technology affairs mentioned the constant emphasis of the president on development of the relations between Iran and Oman, expressing: the government of prudence and hope considers no limitation for development of the relationships between these two countries. Therefore, we are prepared to have scientific and technological collaborations with Oman.

Sattari regarded the development of science and technology as an important task in the country, affirming: in the recent UNCTAD report, scientific and technological advancements of Iran have been emphasized, which is a great success considering the restrict sanctions against Iran.

He also regarded achieving solutions for turning science into economy as an achievement in the area of science and technology.

According to the vice president for science and technology affairs, development of startups has been accelerated in Iran, and some of these startups have obtained amazing profits and success by managing the youth despite resistance from the traditional economy.

Sattari believed that a new economic culture has been created in Iran with the advent of new generation, which can attract investments.

He also considered proper and wide activities of startups as the cause of formation of the new economic culture in the country, and recognized its development as the best platform for attracting non-resident Iranian students and elites.

Mentioning the role of women in the scientific development of the country, Sattari stated: over the past four years, women have had a great impact on the scientific development of the country. In this regard, the founder and current manager of one of the largest companies in the biotechnology area of the country is a successful woman.

Sattari continued: Iran and Oman can increase their scientific and technological relations to create interactions between their companies and academic figures.

The Foundation for Increased Cooperation between Iran and Oman Is Laid

During this event, Rawiya bint Saood Al Busaidi, minister of higher education in Oman, pointed out the long and historic relations between Iran and Oman, stating: given the advancements in the area of science and technology in the two countries, there is more opportunities for increased collaborations between Iran and Oman.

She added: for several years, Oman has aimed to decrease its dependency on oil-based economy and create economic diversity in the country, for which the government has designed many plans.

The minister of higher education of Oman pointed out the establishment of a research committee in Oman, expressing: one of the most important measures taken by Oman for development of science and technology is creation of a research council and formation of university and technology park, which still has yielded no particular results due to financial problems of some of the projects.

Busaidi recognized the development of industry, tourism and alterant industries as the most important priorities of Oman for diversification of the economy.

In term of mean entrance of 18-22-year youth to the universities, the minister of higher education of Oman asserted: in 2012, only 12% of our youth entered universities, which increased to 57% in 2017 and is regarded as a significant growth for Oman.

She continued: Oman has 230 thousand resident and seven thousand foreign students. It seems that investment on higher education has had a good increase in Oman.

Finally, Busaidi requested increased cooperation between Iran and Oman, conveying: today, there is a good condition for increased scientific and technological collaborations between Iran and Oman, and we ask for holding joint scientific conferences between the two countries.