FAO Rep: “Iran a gateway for exchanging development solutions”

Tehran Times newspaper published an article written by Mr. Serge Nakouzi, FAO Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran entitled “Exchanging development solutions: considering the multilateral gateway for Iran”, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Exchanging Development solutions: Considering the multilateral gateway for Iran The exchange of solutions amongst countries confronting common and similar development challenges is not a novel initiative. This has been going on for many years and the mobilization of greater exchanges on development between countries of the global south has been a major focus of attention of the international community for the past several decades.

For its part, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been increasingly playing a substantive role in sharing knowledge, experiences and good-practices, as well as know-how in the field of development with neighbouring and, in some cases, far-off countries. Such exchanges or transfer of knowledge and technology has not been a characteristic of this nation merely in its recent past history. One only has to look at the Qanat system that exemplifies how some 3,000 years ago the Persians had acquired the knowledge to dig underground aqueducts that would transfer the water from aquifers in highlands to the plains through the use of the forces of gravity and how subsequently, their knowledge and technology was transferred as far afield as Spain and North Africa in the West and the Chinese oasis settlements of Turkistan in the East as well as Yemen in the South (H.E. Wulff, 1968).

As demonstrated by the case of the qanat system, the bilateral transfer of knowledge between countries can contribute to improving the conditions of life and fostering greater economic growth through the use of more effective means to take advantage of available resources.