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Ecuador interested in scientific and technological cooperation with China

Xinhua, September 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Ecuadorian government is interested in promoting scientific and technological cooperation with China and learning from China's experience of innovation and technology transfer to bridge the gaps that exist in the South American countries, said the country's senior official.

"We want to know how China put scientific and technological innovation as part of its endogenous development and economic growth," said Rene Ramirez, Ecuador's National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation, in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

The minister said he had recently conveyed Ecuador's intention to use China's experience for reference to his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, via a video conference.

The officials will attend the First China and Latin America and the Caribbean Scientific and Technological Innovation Forum in Quito, capital city of Ecuador, on Sept. 16-17. As a sub-forum under the framework of China-CELAC Forum, the upcoming roundtable meeting will attract ministers from China and CELAC member states to exchange views.

The exhibition on the achievements of scientific and technological innovation of China will also be held concurrently in Ecuador.

Ramirez said that his government now invests 11.7 billion U.S. dollars in higher education, which represents 2.12 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and has more than 11,000 students studying at the first-rate universities in the world.

The minister added that Ecuador, which has taken changes in the sector of higher education, seeks cooperation with China in science, technology and innovation.

In particular, Quito seeks to engage in joint research with China in the fields of energy, food security and information technology, he said.

The minister noted that after receiving over 300 scholarships from China, Ecuador expects to open a Mandarin classroom and a 4G laboratory in Yachay, a flagship government-sponsored scientific project in the Andean province Imbabura.

"Our cooperation has nourished a lot of opportunities, but above all, the exchange of learning experiences and human talent through the exchange of students and scientists and teachers is the key," he said.

Ramirez added that technicians from Ecuador's public companies are doing internships at Chinese information technology and communication (ICT) companies. "We are interested in their new and advanced technologies, and in this context, we want to have more cooperation of technology transfer," he said. Endite