To promote regional development through science and technology,

the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) has officially launched the African Research and Innovation Forum, FARI, with the theme “Science, Technology, and Innovation for a competitive ECOWAS”.

The forum came into being in 2012 as a  scope of ECOWAS mandate in Science, Technology, and Innovation with the action plan, to improve public understanding of the role of science, technology, and Innovation in socio-economic development.

Speaking at the official launch, Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Adeleke Mamora, said the African forum is dedicated to the promotion of science, technology, and innovation and is a platform for the exchange of ideas and discussions among scientists, innovators, policymakers, private sector, technical and financial partners.

The Minister said the primary objective of the forum is to showcase inventions and innovations for growth and development of the sub-region.

He said Nigeria as a nation can no longer afford to be a consuming nation but a productive one, assuring that the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation will continue to seek ways of commercializing the various research and development projects

He  expressed optimism that the forum will be an avenue for scientists to network among themselves and share information to move research and development forward.

Dr. Adeleke also said Nigeria has continued to assist various groups and bodies of entrepreneurs through the provision of enabling environment, and grant support to generate the required budget to create a better society, adding that the Ministry is not leaving any stone unturned for peace, progress, and development of the nation.

In his remarks, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Umaro Embalo, expressed hope that the forum will provide the needed opportunity for all countries of the region to exchange best practices in the field of science and technology.

President Embalo, who was represented by the Ambassador of Guinea Bissau to Nigeria, Dr. Ribeiro Butiam, said he has always attached importance to Science and Technology as part of his mandate to promote industrialization and development of the region

This he said makes the Forum of utmost importance, since science, technology, and innovation are the tripartite that should lift the continent out of poverty.

He also expressed the belief that the forum was a framework for strengthening the integration of both political and scientific decision-makers; stakeholders including scientists of the region, policymakers and journalists

President Mbalo called on all stakeholders in the region to unite and contribute through the “frameworks of reflection” the changes in mindsets to improve the image of member States”.

The Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, ECOWAS, Professor Fatou Sarr, who was the convener of the launch, said the forum is paramount for developing countries in the sub-region.

According to her, the standard of living of a nation depends to a large extent on its scientific and technological development, as such, for the development of research and innovation, there must be a political and financial commitment from all African nations and at all levels.

Professor Sarr noted that the development of science and technology in Africa requires significant resources.

“However, far from being exclusively a question of resources, this development depends somewhat on a strong political will: that of defining an effective strategy enabling the pooling of skills and energies around a common vision: to make Science, Technology, and Innovation the engine of development”, She said.

She pointed out that the convening of the African Research and Innovation Forum marks an important turning point in the promotion of science and technology at the regional level.

Prof Sarr described it as a “framework for strengthening regional cooperation in the science and technology sector as the outcome of the resolutions that will emerge from the regional framework of reflection with concrete proposals to achieve a qualitative leap toward the realization of the ECOWAS STI vision 2050