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Secretary-General Appoints Romain Murenzi as Chairman of High-Level Panel on Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries
Romain Murenzi, Executive Director of The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) –a scientific body under the administrative responsibility of UNESCO– has been appointed by the UN Secretary-General as the Chair of the High-level Panel of Technology Bank and Science, Technology and Innovation Supporting Mechanism for the Least Developed Countries.
The High-level Panel has been set up in response to the request made to the Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), during its 68th session, to establish a panel that will examine the scope and functions, the organizational aspects and the institutional linkages of the United Nations with the Technology Bank, which was proposed following the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2011.
The proposed Bank will promote access by LCDs to knowledge, information, technology and know-how and to support these countries in improving the scientific and innovative capacity needed for their structural transformation. This structural transformation will be made possible through innovation-supporting mechanisms in science and technology by building on existing international initiatives.
The Secretary-General has announced the members of this High-level Panel, who will advise on the organizational and operational aspects of the proposed Technology Bank. The High-level Panel will hold its first meeting in February 2015 and is expected to submit its report to the Secretary-General during the summer of next year for transmission to the General Assembly during its 70th session.
TWAS is a global science academy that works to advance science and engineering for sustainable prosperity in the developing world. It was founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, under the leadership of the late Nobel laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan, and officially launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1985. The academy operates under the administrative umbrella of UNESCO.
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