Global Recognition For Malaysian PM's Science Adviser Zakri

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Zakri Abdul Hamid, the Science Adviser to the Prime Minister, has been appointed to the governing council of a planned United Nations (UN) Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries. The appointment of Zakri, who is also joint chairman of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), was made by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. The Technology Bank is an outcome of a UN General Assembly resolution which requested the secretary-general to launch and operationalise a science, technology and innovation support mechanism for least developed countries. "The governing council will help the secretary-general undertake necessary steps to operationalise the Technology Bank. "In particular, it will formulate principles and policies governing its activities and operations and prepare its charter for consideration and adoption by the General Assembly," MIGHT said in a statement here Sunday. The Technology Bank idea originated in the 2011 Istanbul Programme of Action and was confirmed in both the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda and in Sustainable Development Goal 17. The Government of Turkey has offered to host the Technology Bank in Gebze, Turkey. In another development, the Washington DC-based Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC) has appointed Zakri as a Distinguished Fellow in recognition of his exemplary public service and expertise on matters affecting global competitiveness, science and sustainability. The GFCC is a global network of 30 competitiveness councils and economic/ business development organisations representing countries from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Zakri has also been elected as a member of the governing board of the Global Research Council, representing the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in 2012, the Global Research Council is a virtual organisation comprising heads of science and engineering funding agencies worldwide, and is dedicated to promoting the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide. --BERNAMA