By Lebone Rodah Mosima
South Africa and Nigeria have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation in science, technology, and innovation as Africa’s largest economies mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary this week.
South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Nomalungelo Gina, met Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner Alexander Temitope Ajayi in Pretoria to discuss ways to implement a bilateral agreement on scientific and technological cooperation signed in 2001.
“Reviving our STI partnership could unlock immense potential for collaborative research, technology transfer, capacity building, and joint innovation projects”, Gina said.
She said that the renewed collaboration could open new opportunities in renewable energy, health innovation, digital transformation, and space science, areas that align with both countries’ development priorities and the African Union’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2034).
Ajayi said that South Africa and Nigeria have the required resources to operationalise the existing STI agreement, within which several areas of collaboration could be exploited, and expressed commitment in this regard.
He said the plethora of innovators and entrepreneurs in and areas of cooperation would be discussed during the upcoming binational commission in Abuja between the countries’ foreign affairs ministers.
“The time has come for technology to play a very revolutionary role in the development of Africa, and South Africa and Nigeria can collaborate in digital technologies to position the continent to the outside world as a leader in this sector”, Ajayi said.
Ajayi also spoke of the proposed establishment of a Special Technology Envoy on Digital and Emerging Technologies, another area of collaboration to exploit with South Africa.
“This establishment will be a high-level diplomatic mechanism that will serve as the permanent representative body within the African Union systems, leading on all technology-related matters, both within Africa and globally,” he said.
“This initiative aims to position the African continent as an active voice and contributor in the formulation of international technology investments, geopolitics, policy, governance norms, and innovation-driven development”.
According to DSTI, other areas of cooperation were discussed, including technical visits, people-to-people exchanges, as well as collaboration on research and development among universities in both countries.
“As Africa’s two largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria share a responsibility to drive the continent’s development agenda and ensure that innovation becomes a cornerstone of Africa’s growth”, Gina said.
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