The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, highlighted, Wednesday at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, Morocco’s commitment to open science, thus underlining the importance of sharing successes within the scientific community.
« If open science is so important for developed countries, it is vital for other emerging or developing countries like Morocco. It thus offers researchers in these countries equitable access to information through a wide range of resources », indicated Mr. Miraoui who spoke during a plenary session under the theme « International actions serving global challenges: Making open science a reality », as part of the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Open Science Policies. science and technology. Open science, he continued, also allows them to reduce research costs, by removing the charges associated with the purchase of subscriptions to scientific journals and access to databases that the ministry has covered for several years for the benefit of its researchers, noting that in terms of public policy, this frees up financial resources to reinvest in research and development activities. “Convinced of these objectives, Morocco is aligning itself with the OECD recommendations in terms of open science,” affirmed the minister, specifying that several initiatives are already promoted by the Kingdom in this direction, for the benefit of scientists around the world and more particularly those in developing countries, particularly in Africa. In this wake, Mr. Miraoui stressed that « Morocco is resolutely determined to pursue this proactive policy towards open science », noting that in this perspective, the Kingdom adheres to the initiatives that the OECD promotes in this direction, such as the desire to make policies in science, technology and innovation an instrument to confront global crises such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution, emerging diseases and pandemics, food, as well as water and energy, against a backdrop of increasing inequalities, poverty and geopolitical tensions. The manager, in this regard, noted that his department is launching new instruments to unite research activities at the national level, in particular the Thematic Research Institute, involving political decision-makers, universities and the private sector around societal issues and national priorities, such as water, medical and food biotechnologies and social transformations. He also highlighted the importance of promoting shared values and principles in science, technology and innovation, including academic and scientific freedom, scientific excellence, openness, transparency, reciprocity, accountability, research ethics, integrity and safety, as well as diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, all of which underpin responsible and mutually beneficial research and innovation. And to recall that Morocco adopted “the Declaration on multilateral dialogue on the principles and values of international cooperation in research and innovation”, established on February 16, 2024 in Brussels. “Morocco remains open to all collaborative partnerships, which the OECD and its members propose, to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity in research, mobility and circulation of talents, including with emerging countries and developing countries, on the basis of common values, taking into account the integrity and security of research and the situation in each country,” he said. said the minister. Placed under the theme « Shared challenges, transformative actions, the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology Policies (23-24 April) aims to outline transformative actions in science, technology and innovation, to accelerate transitions towards greater sustainability, integrate common values in the governance of science and emerging technologies, and consolidate the role of international cooperation in order to meet global challenges. Faced with the various global challenges, first and foremost the climate change, the safeguarding of biodiversity or the sustainable management of resources, this event, which brought together ministers and high-level representatives from OECD member and non-member countries, as well as international organizations, allowed the different international delegations to bring together their transformative strategies in the fields of science, technology and innovation.
