Archives Archives

On 23 February 2011, TYT Dato’ Sri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis, Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States of America, was invited to provide a keynote address at the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative, which was held in Kuala Lumpur from 21 to 23 February 2011. The event, which was attended by more than 60 participants from 17 countries, was organized by CRDF Global, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, and training. CRDF Global is based in Arlington, Virginia with offices in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Jordan.

 

GIST is one of the primary science and technology initiatives to be implemented following the proposals announced by U.S. President Barack Obama in Cairo in June 2009. Its goal is to advance innovative scientific, academic and technological collaboration between the United States and nations in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region and Muslim Asia. The GIST programme, which will run over the next two years, is being funded initially by the U.S. Department of State.

 

In the Ambassador’s presentation, he touched on numerous issues related to science and technology, drawing on his wealth of experience as the former Minister of Science and Technology, in the private sector and academia. Dato’ Sri Ambassador spoke extensively on Malaysia’s efforts to transform from a resource-led economy from an innovation-led one.