Author: Niyigarura, Jean Claude

Annotation: The Department of Science and Technology Development, with the Ministry of Higher Tertiary Education Science and Technology operates within the framework of the Science and Technology Policy with a mandate to promote, facilitate and coordinate the strategic application of Science and Technology into the main stream of the economic activities in Zimbabwe. In order to achieve the above goal the Department of Science and Technology Development works with all Science and Technology related sectors of economy chief among them; Agriculture, Energy, Research and Development Institutes, Mining, Information and Communication Technology, Intellectual Property Organisations, Small to Medium Enterprises, Education, Health, Environment and Finance. This paper seeks to present the impact, challenges and opportunities presented by use of Science and Technology Diplomacy to break political impasses by ensuring collaboration of all global nations through use of scientific solutions to local regional and global challenges using available material, technologies and capital and Science and Technology human resources. The term “Science and Technology diplomacy” is used to mean the provision of Science, Technology and Innovation advice to multilateral negotiations and the implementation of the results of such negotiations at the national level. It therefore covers activities at the both international level and national level pursuant to international commitment. Advances in Science and Technology have become key drivers in international relations, and knowledge of trends in key fields is an essential prerequisite to effective international negotiations. Knowledge of trends in Science, Technology and Innovation is also a key element for successful national implementation of international agreements. There are two key features of growth of Science, and Technology knowledge that are central to international negotiations. Firstly, scientific knowledge is becoming increasingly specialized and therefore demands greater expert input into international negotiations. Secondly, the application of Science and Technology to development requires the ability to integrate the divergent disciplines that are needed to solve specific problems. International Diplomacy now demands that the government negotiators deal with both specialisation and integration. The main focus of the presentation would be on the continual lobbying and buy-in for realignment of Science and Technology in promoting SSC and Triangular Cooperation, as well as Foreign policies of developing nations, so as to be able to sustainably leap frog their economies through Science and Technology Diplomacy, and be able to achieve quick wins through initiatives in IPR, Commercialisation, exchange of information, capacity building and for technology sourcing and building of Science and Technology partnerships. Areas of leapfrogging development countries would be in emerging technologies of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and Indigenous knowledge system, Robotics, Mechatronics and Information Communication Technology. Finally a review of the current status of Science and Technology in various developing countries through identification of training needs and recommendation for suitable mechanisms of Triangular Cooperation trough sharing the capabilities and experiences of developing countries on Science and Technology Diplomacy would be of necessity.

Keywords: Science, Diplomacy, Science diplomacy, Technology, Innovation, Impacts, Opportunities and Challenges