President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged developing nations, especially those in the global south, to prioritize the adoption of science and technology to advance the developmental needs of their people, as all the stages of development and the evolution of mankind’s civilization, have been linked to innovation, been driven by science, and have been sustained by technology.
President Akufo-Addo said these when he addressed The G 77 + China Summit of The Heads of State and Government Summit, in Havana, Cuba, which was held on the Theme “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology And Innovation”.
The summit saw in attendance United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and some 30 heads of state and government from Africa, Asia and Latin America at the two-day summit in Havana.
He bemoaned the situation where most of the countries of the global South, which are mostly members of the G77+China, unfortunately, lack the tools and capacity to create new knowledge, whilst the endowed countries of the North do not lend themselves to transferring technology and innovation willingly, nor keen to finance the building of science infrastructure for developing countries, thereby denying the latter of the benefits of science, technology and innovation.
He highlighted the unfair circumstances of developing countries during the COVID-19 outbreak and how developed countries, mistreated the poor south, calling it the stark reality.
President Akufo-Addo urged the summit to tackle the situation and not give up.
He outlined Ghana’s quest to adopt science and technology to speed up innovation and development, stressing his government’s commitment to nurturing STEM education, especially in the area of AI and Robotics.
The president reminded the gathering that the success stories of great nations were founded on science and technology and appealed to the developing nations to use the occasion to develop science and technology policies to spur further development.
The bloc was established by 77 countries of the global South in 1964 “to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity. Cuba took over the rotating presidency in January.
