Bangladesh hosted the 4th High Council Meeting of D-8 Technology Transfer and Exchange Network (TTEN) from 17 to 19 May 2017 in Dhaka. Participants from the D-8 Member States of Bangladesh, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan attended the program. Officials of the D-8 Secretariat and the D-8 TTEN Secretariat also attended. 

Architect Yeafesh Osman, the Hon’ble Minister of Science and Technology of Bangladesh graced the opening session of the event and formally declared it open. The Message of Dr. Seyed AliMohammad Mousavi, D-8 Secretary-General, was also delivered at the opening ceremony. 

In the message, two important subjects were highlighted, namely the Executive Plan and the way forward for the D-8 TTEN as well as the Member States’ Concept projects proposal. 

Member States namely Bangladesh, Iran, Malaysia and Nigeria made comprehensive presentations on areas of strengths and weaknesses in the technological sphere as well as potential areas of cooperation.

The meeting noted the importance of D-8 joint projects to achieve sustainable socio-economic development. It was pointed out that D-8 projects promote and accelerate economic integration, trade and investment liberalization, open up markets, improve the ease of doing business ranking and engender technical cooperation as well as technology transfer. 

Also at the meeting, the D-8 TTEN Secretariat announced the commencement of the process of the 2nd round of D-8 TTEN Technology Transfer Award, adding that the procedure for selecting the best technology transfer contracts for 2016 is underway. Member States are therefore requested to disseminate this information to deserving companies in their respective countries.

On the sidelines of the meeting, technology-Business sessions were held and policy makers, research institutions and technologists from companies in Member States joined session. Constructive discussions among the representatives took place. The discussions were so fruitful that the 4th High Council Meeting decided to continue to host the business sessions on the sideline of next High Council Meeting.

The delegates are scheduled to visit the factory of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as part of the program.

The delegates were full of appreciation and gratitude to the Government and people of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for their warm hospitality and the elaborate arrangements for the meeting.