science policy in the arab world

SCIENCE POLICY IN THE ARAB WORLD

SAMI A. KHASAWNIH

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Abstract - The paper gives an overview of recent trends in the development of policies and technology in the Arab world. It describes the problems that Arab policy- makers must address in order to set the Arab world on the road to scientific and technological self-reliance, with special emphasis on the shortcomings of the Arab education system and the problem of the brain drain. It also discusses the development of Arab policies on science and technology in the context of the need to democratize Arab society as a prerequisite to real advancement. And finally it surveys the efforts that Arab policy-makers have made in recent years to formulate coherent inter-Arab policies on science and technology. Arab national policy on science and technology for development must be formulated in accordance with the concepts of international co-operation and take full advantage of the vehicles for co-operation that exist today.

Zusammenfassung - Der Bericht gibt einen Oberblick fiber jiingste Tendenzen in politischen und technologischen Richtungen der arabischen Liinder. Er geht ein auf die Probleme, denen sich arabische Politiker zuwenden mfissen, um die arabische Welt auf den Pfad zur wissenschaftlichen und technischen Selbstverantwortung zu ffihren. Dabei werden besonders die Unzul~inglichkeiten im arabischen Erziehungs- system und das Problem des Brain Drain berficksichtigt. Im Rahmen der als notwen- dig erachteten Demokratisierung der arabischen Gesellschaft wird die Entwicklung der arabischen Wissenschaftspolitik als Voraussetzung ftir einen realen Fortschritt diskutiert. AnschliefSend wird ein Llberblick gegeben fiber die jfingsten Bestrebungen arabischer Politiker, eine koh~irente Politik der Wissenschaft und Technik zu ent- wickeln. Die nationale arabische Politik der Wissenschaft und Technik ffir Entwick- lung mul3 gem~iI3 den Konzepten der internationalen Zusammenarbeit formuliert und von Hilfsmitteln ffir die Zusammenarbeit, wie sic heute bestehen Gebrauch ma- chen.

R6sum6 - Cet article donne un panorama des tendances r6centes du d6veloppement des politiques et de la technologie dans le monde arabe. I1 d6crit les probl~mes aux- quels les hommes politiques arabes se heurtent pour mettre le monde arabe en route vers l 'ind6pendance scientifique et technologique, en pla~ant un accent sp6cial sur les insuffisances du syst~me 6ducatif arabe et le probl~me de l 'exode des cerveaux. I1 examine 6galement le d6veloppement des politiques arabes en mati6re de science et technologie dans le contexte de la n6cessit6 de d6mocratisation de la soci6t6 arabe en tant que condition sine qua non d 'un r6el progr6s. On y &udie les efforts que les hommes politiques arabes ont faits au cours des derni&es ann6es pour formuler des politiques inter-arabes en mati~re de science et de technologie. On remarque dans

International Review o f Education - lnternationale Zeitschrift f f ir Erziehungswissenschaft - Revue Internationale de P4dagogie X X X I I (1986), 55-70. All rights reserved. Copyright © by Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg and Martinus Ni jhof f Publishers, Dordrecht.

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cet article que l'6tablissement d'une d6mocratie dans la vie arabe est une n6cessit6 si l'on veut asseoir une v6ritable politique arabe en mati~re de science et de technologie dans le monde arabe. C'est ~t cette fin que l'on cite dans ce document quelques principes g6n6raux qui peuvent guider la politique arabe en mati~re de recherche scientifique et de technologie. Le d6veloppement de la politique nationale arabe dans ce domaine doit 8tre formul6 d'apr~s les concepts de la coop6ration internationale et b6n6ficier des v6hicules de coop6ration qui existent d6j~t.

Since the Arab League was established in 1946, the Arab states have organized in a more systematic way numerous meetings, seminars, workshops, and conferences at practically all levels in an effort to formulate a coherent and effective policy on the role of science and technology in Arab national development. These discussions have covered all areas of Arab concern, and hundreds of decisions and policy statements have come out of them. Arab governments seem to be quite serious about regional development and to have established common policies to meet their peoples' needs. But appearances are deceptive; the various proposals have not always lived up to expectations.

This paper will give an overview of recent trends in the development of policies on science and technology in the Arab world. First it describes the problems that Arab policy-makers must address in order to set the Arab world on the road to scientific and technological self-reliance, with special emphasis on the shortcomings of the Arab education system and the problem of the brain drain. Next it discusses the development of Arab policies on science and technology in the context of the need to democratize Arab society as a prerequisite to real advancement. Finally it surveys the efforts that Arab policy-makers have made in recent years to formulate coherent inter-Arab policies on science and technology. The paper concludes with a few observations on the future directions that should be pursued by Arab scientific and technological policies in order to be truly effective.

Factors Leading to Arab Technological Stagnation

A few statistics may illustrate the problems currently confronting Arab policy-makers. The Arab states are among the world's less-developed countries (LDCs). In 1975 the advanced countries (ACs) had a combined population of 682,000,000 (17.2 percent of the world's population), produced 62.3 percent of the world's GNP, and had an annual per capita income of $5,521. In the same year the LDCs had a combined population of 2,069,000,000, produced 26.2 percent of the world's GNP, and had an annual per capita income of $478. ' The ACs have accumulated 95 percent of the world's tech-

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nology and they account for 94.8 percent of the world's scientific production. 2

The population of the Arab world increased from 104,000,000 in 1963 to 142,800,000 in 1975, and it is projected to reach 250,000,000 in the year 2000. Sixty-five to 70 percent of these people live in rural areas. The Arab contribution to the world industrial product was 0.4 percent, or only 6 percent of the total industrial product of the LDCs, and Arab industrial exports were 0.03 percent of total world industrial exports, or only 5.4 percent of the total industrial exports of the LDCs. Services contributed 50 percent of the Arab GNP; agriculture was second in importance and industry third. 3

In the early 1950s there were ten universities in the Arab world; in 1985 there were seventy-five universities of which fifty-three are members of the Association of Arab Universities.' The number of university students increased enormously from 150,000 in 1960 to 400,000 in 1970 and 1,800,000 in 1980, but there are still only 0.80 Arab university graduates per I00,000 population - a figure far lower than that of 2.8 in the ACs. 5 In 1975 there were only 10,519 faculty members teaching at Arab universities. 6 The vast majority of Arab university students (64 percent) were in the hu- manities and social sciences; only 7.5 percent were in the natural sciences, 10 percent in engineering, 10.5 percent in medical sciences, and 8 percent in agriculture. 7

Most scientific research in the Arab world is done at these universities, and, as a rule, it is neither well funded nor strongly emphasized. Khartoum University is about average: in 1974 it allocated $57,432 for research out of a total university budget of $25,844,400. Moreover, Zahlan estimates that 50 percent of all scientific research in the Arab world is conducted by university professors who are concerned more about career advancement than about research. Nevertheless, there were 300 non-university centres for research and development in the Arab world, and some were reasonably large. The National Research Centre in Cairo, for example, had 1,112 research specialists in 1976, and the Royal Scientific Society in Amman had 200 technicians and specialists in 1978. 8

Only a very small proportion of the scientists, engineers, and technicians now employed in the Arab world are engaged in research. While the ACs employ fully 10 percent of their scientists and engineers and 15 percent of their technicians in research and development, the Arab nations employ far smaller percentages of their scientists, engineers, and technicians in these activities. 9 Furthermore, the ratio of technicians to scientists and engineers in the Arab world is abnormally low (0.5 to 1); in Africa it is 1.3 to 1, in Latin America it is 2.4 to 1, and in the ACs it is 1.8 to 1. 1°

The shortage of medical doctors and other health workers in the Arab world is especially serious. The available information indicates that between

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1964 and 1971 there was one medical doctor for each 3,000 citizens in the Arab world as opposed to one for each 750 i n the ACs; in the same period there were 500 persons for each hospital bed in the Arab world as opposed to 100 for each bed in the ACs. Arab governments spent $10 on each citizen's health during that period, while the governments of the ACs spent $60 to $90 on each citizen. The average life expectancy in the Arab world was fifty-two years, while that in the ACs was seventy-two; mortality was 120 per thousand among Arab children, but only 15 per thousand in the ACs. 1'

According to UN estimates the LDCs should spend 0.5 percent of their GNP for research and development and 0.5 percent for scientific services, or a total of 1 percent for both. Again the figures for the Arab world are far lower. 12 Annual expenditure on research and development in the ACs is between $30 and $100 per capita, but it ranges from $2.3 per capita in Iraq to $0.3 per capita in Yemen, or roughly $2 per capita each year in the Arab world as a whole. Per capita Arab scientific output is roughly 0.5 percent of that of the advanced countries and 1 percent that of Israel. ~3

Arab Education

Many of the political, economic, social, and cultural problems that the Arab world faces in coming to terms with modern science and technology can be traced to the inadequacies of the prevailing Arab education system. In 1972, 70 percent of all Arab adults were illiterate; in 1980, 56.47 percent of those over 15 years were illiterate. The total illiteracy percentage in the Arab world (42.2) is very high in comparison with that of North America (0.5), Western Europe (0.5), Eastern Europe (2.3), Eastern Asia (2.4), the Soviet Union (0.5), and the advanced countries in general (1.8); it is somewhat less than the average for the less-developed countries (47.7). 1, In 1970, 50 percent of all children five to fourteen years old were out of school (dropped out or never entered school); over 80 percent of those sixteen to eighteen years old had not received a secondary-school education; and only 3 to 4 percent of those eighteen to twenty years old had gone to university or some other insti- tution of higher learning. In addition, more than 95 percent of all Arab students had no access to a library and had no opportunity to perform experi- ments in any of the sciences. 15

The shortcomings of the existing Arab education system should not be surprising. The present education Systems in the Arab states were developed first under the direction of foreigners and later under the immediate supervision of the political establishments that came into existence after indepen- dence. Naturally, these systems were designed to serve the present and future interests of the ruling classes. I do not intend to deny the fact that the

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Arab peoples have benefitted a great deal from these education systems; the figures usually given by Arab educational establishments to substantiate their accomplishments are impressive. But statistics can be misleading inas- much as they do not specify the kind of education that Arab citizens receive.

In spite of the numerous national, bilateral, and regional conferences and meetings of education ministers and highly specialized committees, and in- spite of the quantitative and qualitative improvements in Arab education, education systems in the Arab states are still not capable of meeting modern educational needs. The teaching methods in Arab education are traditional. The mastery of facts is central to this system, and no stress is placed on ex- perimentation, problem-solving, anticipatory learning or learning-by- doing. Educational curricula lack the scientific and technological content required to overcome the prevailing ignorance in these fields, and as a result students do not receive the kind of education that instils in them the values, attitudes, and skills necessary to cope with the political, social, cultural, and economic changes that must be made to establish a promising scientific community. In addition, most of the courses, textbooks, and all the systems are copied from the ACs. The product of Arab education, consequently, is a citizen who knows little about his own culture and heritage and cannot understand the reasons for Arab backwardness, recent changes in the world community, or the nature of the forces that govern interaction among nations.

The Brain Drain

Equally serious is the continuing loss of Arab highly qualified manpower (HQM) to the ACs: 100,000 university graduates have left the Arab world for the ACs since 1950. These persons constituted one-sixth of all Arab university graduates and one-third of all Arabs who hold MS and PhD degrees in medicine and philosophy. 16

According to figures for the years until 1976, up to 50 percent (24,000) of the Arab world's medical doctors, 23 percent (17,000) of its engineers, and 15 percent (7,500) of its natural scientists have gone to Western Europe and the USA. 17 And it is estimated that 80 percent of Arab medical doctors and 75 percent of Arab PhD-holders will be migrating from the Arab world by the year 2000 - figures much higher than those for the 1970s. ,8

A 1976 study conducted by I. Abu-Lughod estimates the number of Arab HQM now resident in the USA to be about 100,000. An extremely high proportion of the survey sample for this study (91 percent) possessed university degrees, and the majority were specialists in engineering, natural sciences, health, technology, and medicine, which together accounted for 61.1 per-

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cent of all those surveyd. 19 Figures given in a recent paper by Alan Fecher confirm that the migration of Arab scientists and engineers to the USA has been continuing (see Table 1). 20

Table 1. Arab Emigran~ to the Uni~d States, 1966 to 1977

Fiscal All Arab North African Middle Eastern year countries countries countries

1966 162 60 102 1967 306 128 178 1968 455 292 163 1969 818 602 216 1970 ~ 1,215 928 287 1971 663 403 260 1972 509 258 251 1973 311 169 142 1974 271 138 133 1975 273 161 112 1976 414 212 202 1977 401 204 197

Source: National Science Foundation. 'Scientists and Engineers from Abroad: Trends of the Past Decade'. Reviews o f Data on Science Resources. No. 28 (NSF 77-305), February 1977, p. 6.

A 1977 survey of the Arab scientific research projects published by the Arab Development Institute (ADI) in that year shows just how serious the problem has become (see Tables 2 to 4). 2, According to these statistics Arab scientists worldwide have published 7,440 studies, but only 3,056, or 41 percent, were done in the Arab world, while 2,603, or 35 percent, were done in the United States, and 1,553, or 21 percent, were done in Europe. Fur- thermore only 200 original research works in all fields were produced in the Arab world, and, strangely, 90 percent of all scientific publications about the Arab world are produced by non-Arabs. 22

The brain drain is no doubt largely a result of social and economic factors. Economic conditions in the Arab world are generally poor. Sixty percent of the labour force is employed in agriculture, 11 percent in industry, and 17 percent in the service sector. 23 The productivity of the labour forces is low, especially in agriculture. This situation does not encourage highly qualified professors, technicians, and specialists to participate creatively in existing developmental projects, plans, and programmes. Moreover, foreign exports dominate the Arab economy. The contracts implemented in the Arab world in 1977 were estimated to have a value of $100 billion; 2,000 to 4,000 projects are contracted each year, between 90 and 100 percent of which are designed and executed by foreign firms 24 _ a clear indication that

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Table 3. Research Projects Carried Out by Arab Scientists in Some Western- Hemisphere Countries*

Scientific field United States Canada Other Total

Engineering and technological sciencies 296 12 1 309

Agricultural and environmental sciences 240 42 21 303

Physical and mathematical sciences 355 104 7 466

Chemical sciences 282 69 12 363 Biological sciences 924 109 21 1,054

Total 2,097 336 62 2,495

* Includes only projects published by the Arab Development Institute. Source: Arab Development Institute. Survey of the Arab Scientific Research Pro- jects. 1977, p. 5.

Table 4. Research Projects Carried Out by Arab Scientists in Some European Coun- tries, by Scientific FieM*

Scientific field France Germany England Other Total

Engineering and technological sciences 23 24 92 20 159

Agricultural and environmental sciences 47 55 28 33 163

Physical and mathematical sciences 120 36 126 41 323

Chemical sciencies 114 39 141 35 329 Biological sciences 148 76 282 73 579

Total 452 230 669 202 1,553

* Includes only projects published by the Arab Development Institute. Source: Arab Development Institute. Survey of the Arab Scientific Research Pro- jects. 1977, p. 6.

current policies on development in the Arab world have failed to make effi- cient use of H Q M working in the Arab states. As a result, many highly skilled workers have left the Arab world in search of better opportunities, while Arab H Q M living and working in democratic environments outside the Arab world have been reluctant to return home, fearing that they will sacrifice what they have accomplished. Consequently, the Arab states must search for H Q M not only in the ACs but also in the LDCs. Ironically, the

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HQM who come from foreign countries are usually granted special privi- leges in the Arab world - another source of discouragement for Arab HQM.

Internal Democratization and Technological Development

Development cannot be limited merely to economic improvement in the nar- row sense. Change must occur in all aspects of life, and all of the people must be involved in this process. However, a feeling of solidarity and a sense of identity alone cannot assure the co-operation that is necessary to establish intelligent policies on science and technology. The development of sound national policies requires the total involvement of the people through free institutions, organizations, and associations. The individual Arab states must therefore build the foundations necessary to involve their peoples in determining priorities in accordance with the principles of justice and democracy.

National policies should therefore promote the active participation of the people in techno-economic investigations, planning, surveys, feasibility studies, research and development, and project design (supervision, evalua- tion, contracting) in order both to train the local HQM needed and to develop a policy-making body capable of formulating a national science and technology plan with its own objectives and priorities and the means to achieve them. By doing so, individual Arab states can select the formula that is most effective for allocating resources, co-ordinating their scientific and technological activities, and naming the areas where the applications of science and technology are most needed.

It is important to note that the democratization is also required at the higher-education level. Needless to say, the absence of political, academic, social, intellectual, and institutional freedoms at Arab universities places se- vere limits even on research activities. Though quite a few university professors have taken part in the design of the elementary developmental plans that have been formulated in some Arab states during the last ten years, the responsibility for making the most important decisions regarding development and growth remains in the hands of a few individuals whose decisions are politically oriented.

The price for this lack of intellectual freedom is high. According to Zah- lan, the total number of PhD-holders in the Arab world today is comparable to that of the USA, Germany, or the UK between 1939 and 1945, and that the Arab world boasts 30,000 to 40,000 research workers, a number equal to a third of the world's population of research and development workers in 1940. Yet the current level of scientific and technological discovery and

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innovation, as well as the capacity to apply scientific and technological knowledge, does not compare with the dramatic accomplishments of the 1940s. 55 The conditions facing scientists in the Arab world are so poor that, as Zahlan states, the average productivity of an Arab scientist measured in the number of scientific publications he produces is less than 10 percent of that of his counterparts elsewhere. Clearly, steps will have to be taken to democratize Arab society before maj or advances toward scientific and technological self-sufficiency can be made.

Inter-Arab Co-operation and Technological Development

The history of serious efforts to promote science and technology in the Arab world is very short. During the 1950s and 1960s the cultural department of the Arab League did little to foster an Arab scientific community with a real potential for future development. Though it organized a number of scientific conferences that gave Arab scientists an opportunity to exchange views on Arab scientific life and held a number of conferences on science for Arab ministers of education, in practical terms it did little to improve education in the Arab world or promote science and technology.

The creation of the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in 1970 as an organization responsible for the development of science, technology, culture, and education in the Arab world, marked a turning-point toward the recognition that a unified Arab policy is necessary not only in politics but in science and technology as well. In the years since its establishment, ALECSO has taken a number of steps to promote technical sophistication among Arab policy-makers and scientists. In 1974, for example, it sponsored a conference in Baghdad, attended by fourteen Arab ministers of science, which generated a number of recommendations for the development of a comprehensive Arab policy of science and technology. The conference called for each member state to commission a standing organization linked directly to its highest political and executive authorities to draw up a science policy appropriate to that state; it established 1 percent of national income as a target for expenditure on scientific organizations, manpower, and services to be reached by the early 1980s; and it recommended the establishment of regional centres specializing in various fields of scientific activity - e.g., the Arabization of scientific literature,

peaceful applications of nuclear and other non-conventional sources of energy, the study of the Islamic-Arabic scientific heritage, and the design and production of technical equipment.

With respect to the problem of the brain drain it recommended that integrated plans be made for education and training, that the social climate be

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improved for scientific and technical personnel, that scientific societies be established, that decision-makers be trained, and that a more conscientious effort be made to teach and popularize science. The conference proposed the establishment of centres responsible for the vertical transfer of technology, the registering and monitoring of patent agreements, the study of the social implications of technology transfer, and the updating of imported technology. It also advocated participation in international scientific programmes, conferences, and unions, as well as the maintenance of closer links with the LDCs, particularly Africa. Most significant was the conference's recommendation that ALECSO study the feasibility of creating an Arab foundation for scientific research as well as a special fund to finance research and technical assistance projects. 26

It is clear that the participants at the Baghdad Conference took their work seriously. Their recommendations were reasonably comprehensive and called for Arab co-operation as a means of harnessing science and technology to bring about much-needed change in Arab life. Unfortunately, due to the political divisions in the Arab world, the conference failed to draw up a plan of action, and its recommendations remained largely without ef- fect.

Two years later, in 1976, the Conference on the Application of Science and Technology in the Arab States (CASTARAB) held a meeting in Rabat organized by Unesco with the help of ALECSO and the Economic Commis- sion for Western Africa (ECWA). The Rabat meeting reflected a clear change in Arab thinking on science and technology. It called for the establishment of an Arab science foundation, spelled out a plan of action for the application of science and technology to development in the Arab world, and moved away from the concept of merely co-ordinating to that of inte- grating all Arab scientific efforts.

CASTARAB was the result of UN effort and planning for the application of science and technology for development, particularly in the LDCs. It re- inforced Arab efforts to bring change through the application of scientific findings and technological discoveries. Besides developing better ideas and concepts about science and technology, it sharpened Arab thinking and efforts concerning the establishment of state and regional policies on science and technology for development.

It is too early to tell whether the CASTARAB recommendations will be carried out, but so far the concerned international organizations have done little because of their poor financial situation. ALECSO cut its draft programme and budget for 1978-1979, and the individual Arab states have carried out their shares of the programme with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the CASTARAB meeting has certainly contributed to the development of a heightened sense of the role of science and technology in Arab development, and this in itself is a significant achievement.

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On 14-18 May 1979 the Federation of Arab Scientific and Research Councils (FASRC), an organization founded in 1975 to co-ordinate Arab scientific research, conducted the 'Arab Workshop on Science and Technol- ogy Policy - Priorities for Regional Co-operation Programmes'. The Workshop considered in detail sixteen national papers prepared for the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD), 27 which illustrated the breadth of common interests that exists among the Arab peoples. 2s The Workshop arrived at a synthesis of the main development problems and priorities facing the Arab world and identified a number of major policy objectives. Emphasizing the need for long-term regional co-operation and integration rather than unco-ordinated short- term national initiatives, the Workshop stated that future Arab policy on science and technology must aim to stimulate broader public participation in the process and benefits of development and that it must be socially rele- vant, i.e., it must meet the needs of the people, especially those who are most deprived, without creating a scientific and technological elite. Par- ticular effort should be made to rationalize the use of existing resources, fa- cilities, and manpower in the region, to build the necessary institutional and technical infrastructures, and to take maximum advantage of major international programmes. Lastly the conference stressed the need to develop a scientific and technological capability sufficient to meet Arab strategic and security needs and able to combat all forms of foreign domination. 59

A number of specific recommendations to the FASRC also emerged from the Workshop. It was proposed that the FASRC urge the concerned Arab authorities to establish the infrastructures necessary to realize the objectives of joint Arab scientific action, e.g., information networks, documentation centres, scientific and technical libraries, maintenance workshops and centres, analysis and test laboratories, and extension service centres. The Workshop also recommended that the concerned Arab authorities be invit- ed to establish integrated training centres to develop Arab manpower and enhance its efficiency in the technical and professional fields related to science and technology. 30

A new socio-economic strategy was adopted and elaborated by the Arab heads of state at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held in Amman in November 1980. The product of this summit was a comprehensive five-year plan for the development of science and technology throughout the Arab world between 1981 and 1985. The new plan not only sets forth the short- and long-term goals of the Arab states concerning energy, food, industriali- zation, the development of human resources, etc.; it also provides for the financing of this immense undertaking on an international basis.

Among the most noteworthy features of the plan are: the decision to adopt modern technology - provided that it is suitable to the Arab world

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and its needs; the intention to end Arab dependence on foreigners for the design and execution of development projects; the establishment of policies designed to strengthen Arab bargaining power vis-~t-vis multinational cor- porations; the decision to survey the natural resources of the Arab world - particularly water - with a view to exploiting them more fully; and planning for the more intelligent use of Arab HQM, including the organized movement of HQM among the Arab states for maximum use of their skills. In order to finance the five-year plan $15 billion have been pledged in the form of contributions from the individual states - a sum that excludes amounts allocated by the individual states for local development. Member states have agreed to allocate 2 percent of the GNP for research in science and technology by 1985, and a target of 3 percent of the GNP has been set for the year 2000. Moreover, the summit established a central council, in which the prime minister of each state will participate, as the planning body.

Conclusions

What general features should an Arab policy on science and technology con- tain? It is not possible to single out the precise features of such a policy, for specific and detailed information on Arab social, economic, educational, cultural, political, and agricultural conditions, or on disparity between the different states, is difficult to obtain. However, it is possible to identify its prerequisites. I believe that the first step toward formulating a genuine Arab policy on science and technology is to establish democracy in Arab life. De- mocracy is the only guarantee of the intensive, free interaction among Arabs that will make it possible to draw the outline of such a policy. This interaction must encourage people from all sectors of society to use their mental and social abilities creatively to provide guidelines for scientific and technological research, co-operation, and co-ordination.

Beyond this essential precondition, however, a few general principles can be named that should guide future Arab policy on scientific research and technology. First, all science and technology policy should form an integral part of economic-social development policies and plans, and it should be planned and executed with the full co-operation of the industrial and educational establishments. Second, policies on science and technology should aim at the establishment and refinement of the infrastructures to development. Third, Arab policy and technology transfer must consider realistically and objectively the capacity of the Arab states to adapt to and develop technology, the effects of the local socio-poiitical environment on the development and employment of technology, as well as the social, environmental, health, psychological, and other impacts of technology.

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The question of technology transfer has very serious implications for the development of the life of the people. In general, technology should be imported only if it can be assimilated locally and help to develop an indigenous technological capability. Co-operation is essential, whether it is international, regional, or bilateral, because individual states alone, especially the LDCs, cannot solve the problems inherent in science and technology for development. The UN General Assembly's World Plan of Action for the Ap- plication of Science and Technology in Development 3: focused on the need for international co-operation in science and technology for economic and social development, and the Declaration on the Establishment of the New International Economic Order cited equity, sovereign equality, interdepen- dence, common interest, and co-operation among all states as essential principles of international relations. 33 Arab national policy on research and technology for development must be formulated in accordance with these concepts of international co-operation and take full advantage of the vehicles for co-operation that exist today.

Notes and References

1. al-Rasoul, F.A. 'The New World Economic System'. Oil and Development Publications. Dar al-Thawra for AI-Sahafah and AI-Nashir, 1979, p. 21 (in Arabic).

2. Salman, S.R. 'A Look at the Arab Brain Drain'. Aafaq Arabiah. 5 (May 1980), p. 205 (in Arabic).

3. Ibid., p. 215. 4. E1-Dighaim, M.F. Sawt AI-Shaab Newspaper. No. 725 (12 February 1985). 5. Othman, O.M. Perspectives of Higher Education Development in the Arab Re-

gion until the Year 2000. Paris: Unesco, 1984, pp. 21-22 (in Arabic). 6. Kubeissy, H. 'The Investment of Scientific Human Resources in the Arab

World'. AI Fikr al-Arabi. 8 (December 1978-January 1979), pp. 204-206. 7. Statistics on Scientific and Technological Manpower and Expenditure for Re-

search and Experimental Development in Arab Countries. CASTARAB I Unesco, 1976, SC/76.

8. Zahlan, A.B. Science and Science Policy in the Arab World. Beirut: Centre for Arab Unity Studies, 1979, pp. 27-28.

9. Salman. Op. cit. (n. 2), p. 217. The respective figures for scientists and technicians engaged in research in the various Arab nations are: Egypt, 2 percent and 2 percent; Iraq, 3.6 percent and 1.5 percent; Jordan, 3.5 percent and 3.4 percent; Kuwait, 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent; Libya, 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent; Sudan, 1.8 percent and 8.0 percent; Yemen, 4.5 percent and 7.3 percent.

10. Ibid., p. 216. 11. A1-Zain, E. 'Universities in the Arab World and the Brain Drain'. Qadaya Ara-

biah. No. 5 (May 1980), p. 233 (in Arabic). 12. Zahlan, A.B. Science . . . . p. 217. Figures for some representative countries

are: Iraq, 0.25 percent; Jordan, 0.31 percent; Kuwait, 0.1 percent; Lebanon, 0.40 percent; and Yemen, 0.25 percent.

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13. Zahlan, A.B. 'The Problematique of the Arab Brain Drain'. Paper presented at the Seminar on the Arab Brain Drain organized by ECWA, Beirut, 4-8 Feb- ruary 1980.

14. Momany, A.-K. Adult Education. Amman: The Ministry of Education, 1983, p. 1.

15. AI-Zain, E. Op. cit., p. 232. 16. Zahlan, A.B. 'Development of Human Resources for Arab Integration'. Dira-

sat Arabia. (April 1976), p. 28. 17. IBM., p. 18. 18. A1-Zain, E. Op. cit., p. 225. 19. Farsoun, S. 'Arab-American Professionals and the Brain Drain'. Paper pre-

sented at the Seminar on the Arab Brain Drain organized by ECWA, Beirut, 4-8 February 1980, p. 3.

20. Fecher, A. 'Arab Scientific Manpower in the United States'. Paper presented at the Seminar on the Arab Brain Drain organized by ECWA, Beirut, 4-8 Feb- ruary 1980.

21. Kubeissy, H. 'An Introduction to the Study of the Geographical Distribution of the Arab Scientific Researcher'. Paper presented at the Seminar on the Arab Brain Drain organized by ECWA, Beirut, 4-8 February 1980.

22. Ismael, S. 'Education in the Arab World and Development'. The New Educa- tion. No. 7 (July 1975), pp. 27-29 & p. 31.

23. A1-Zain. Op. cir., p. 233. 24. Mendour, H. 'Arab Scientific Energy'. QadayaArabiah. No. 7 (May 1980), p.

243 (in Arabic). 25. Zahlan, A.B. 'The Problematique of the Arab Brain Drain', op. cit. (n. 13), p.

5. 26. E1-Kholy, O.B. 'The 1976 CATARAB Rabat Meeting: A Review'. In Zahlan,

A.B. (ed.). Technology Transfer and Change in the Arab World. Oxford: Per- gamon, 1978, p. 150.

27. Papers were presented by representatives of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jor- dan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the Yemeni Arab Republic, and the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen.

28. Congdon, R.J. 'Background Information for Determining Priorities'. Paper presented at the Arab Workshop on Science and Technology Policy - Priorities for Regional Co-operation Programmes organized by the Federation of Arab Scientific and Research Councils, Baghdad, Iraq, 14-18 May 1979.

29. Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils. Final Report of the Arab Workshop on Science and Technology Policy - Priorities for Regional Co-operation Programmes. Baghdad, 14-18 May 1979, p. 22.

30. Ibid., p. 23. 31. Al-Watan. No. 2034 (11 July 1980). 32. United Nations, General Assembly Resolution 1944 (XVIII). 33. United Nations, General Assembly Resolution 3201 (XXIX).

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