Morocco earmarks $270 mln per year for scientific research (minister)

Morocco dedicates US $270 million per Year for scientific research, minister in charge of scientific research, Omar Fassi Fihri, Thursday told a Moroccan weekly.

Fihri recalled that the share of the GDP dedicated to scientific research increased in four years from 0,3 percent to more than 0,7 percent in 2002, and voiced hope that it will rise to 1 percent by the end of the current decade.

There are over 15,000 scientists and experts working in scientific research in Morocco, said the minister, underscoring, however, that the number of technicians remains insufficient because of their status that is not "very encouraging."

Morocco is third in Africa in scientific production with 1,000 articles per year in life and exact sciences and engineering, Fihri went on, adding that the number of articles reached 2,100 last year.

The official further evoked the Moroccan private sector's interest in scientific research in which it participates with 16 per cent of the overall amount, stressing that the rate remains far below the one consecrated for the sector in the European Union (50%) or the United States (75%).

As to Morocco-EU cooperation in scientific research, Fihri recalled the conclusion of a bilateral agreement similar to that between the EU and several countries, particularly the US and China.