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GPCA ..... highlights the significance of innovation.

GCC states ‘spending more on R&D’

DUBAI, February 8, 2015

Regional governments are investing significant resources in research and development as part of their national agenda, said the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA).

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among the top 40 investors in research and development worldwide in 2014, according to a recent study by US research group Batelle.
 
According to data compiled by Batelle, Qatar devotes 2.8 per cent of its GDP to R&D, a level similar to that of the US or Germany. Saudi Arabia, although impressive among its GCC peers, comes in at just 0.3 per cent of GDP.

Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, secretary general, GPCA, said: “Attempts to drive innovation in the GCC are still at an early stage. But as countries increase R&D spending, the results will have a huge impact on non-oil sector.”

“A similar trend can be seen in the GCC’s petrochemical industry. To sustain their global competitiveness, GCC chemical producers are striving for technological excellence, building world-class production facilities and nurturing local, innovative capability,” he said.

“The mushrooming of innovation centres and technology parks over the last few years across the GCC States is a positive indication that even the chemical industry is poised for substantial technological development,” he added.

Patent grants from the GCC in chemistry have seen a five-fold increase in the last decade, as per statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization; in 2013, 288 chemical patents were granted to applicants from the Arabian Gulf, up from 48 patents in 2004.

Along with IT and electronics, the petrochemical industry represents the major share of patent activities over the last five years. Between 2005 and 2012, the average share of chemical patents in total patent grants for the GCC was 53 per cent, while worldwide the average was 14 per cent.

“It is possible that the next technological leap for the petrochemical industry is formulated by an engineer in Abu Dhabi, a scientist in Doha or a researcher in Riyadh or Dhahran City,” continued Dr Al-Sadoun.

“In the future, producers will need to focus on providing the funding and into developing the minds behind the research. Scientific innovation, after all, occurs when the finances and brains converge,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service




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