A technology bank by the United Nations for the least developed countries opened in Turkey yesterday, making the country a bridge for technology aid and assistance, to countries all across the globe.
Turkish and U.N. officials formally opened the bank in Gebze, an industrial town 70 kilometers east of Istanbul. The bank will serve as a body for technology transfers and assistance to the least developed countries.
The idea of setting up the bank was conceived in the U.N. Istanbul Program of Action in 2011. The bank is intended to help the least developed countries strengthen their science, technology and innovation capabilities, foster the development of innovation ecosystems and generate homegrown research among other goals.
Least developed countries are recognized as a category by the U.N. of those countries which are highly disadvantaged in their development process for a variety of reasons. They face risk of deeper poverty compared to other countries and figures show more than 75 percent of the least developed countries' populations still live in poverty. There are 47 least developed countries in the world with a population of about 880 million. The bank will be financed by voluntary contributions from member states and other stakeholders, including the private sector and foundations. The technology bank also aims to assist the world's poorest countries in the areas of intellectual property rights and technology related policies.
Turkey itself will allocate $2 million per year for five years and provide staff to the bank. The bank is viewed as a milestone for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Faruk Özlü said that hosting the bank was a reflection of the humanitarian foreign policy Turkey pursues. The minister said the technology bank was located inside a "techno park" run by the country's top science body TÜBİTAK which would allow the bank to benefit from "the ecosystem of science and technology institutions housed there."