TEHRAN – The head of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology’s center for international scientific cooperation, Ehsan Qaboul, and the head of the Egyptian Interests Section in Tehran, Mohammed Zia, have discussed avenues to expand educational, scientific, and technological cooperation between the two countries.
The officials met in Tehran on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
Underscoring Iran’s achievements in different technological and scientific sectors, Qaboul said fostering academic interactions between Iran and Egypt is a strategic measure to further the scientific capacities of the two countries in the international arena.
Expanding literary and linguistic ties through exchanging professors will contribute to the development of scientific interactions between Iranian and Egyptian universities, granting reciprocal scholarships, and exchanging students will play a key role in promoting scientific, cultural, and human collaborations, Qaboul further noted.
The Egyptian official, for his part, welcomed the idea of enhancing scientific cooperation between the two countries, highlighting the development of positive relationships between Iran and Egypt.
Referring to a meeting held between Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simaei-Sarraf and the Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mohamed Ayman Ashour, on the sidelines of the 43rd Session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from October 30 to November 13, 2025, the official expressed hope that the two ministers would hold official meetings to develop joint educational programs.
Iran ranks 72 in technology, innovation
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Technology and Innovation Report 2025, Iran is ranked among upper middle-income countries, ranking 72nd among 166 countries.
The country’s ranking has improved by one position compared to 2022.
UNCTAD has categorized 17 types of technologies as frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, 5G, 3D printing, robotics, drone technology, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, biofuels, biogas and biomass, wind energy, green hydrogen, electric vehicles, nanotechnology, and gene editing.
The Technology and Innovation Report 2025: Inclusive Artificial Intelligence for Development surveys the complex artificial intelligence landscape, aiming to help decision-makers design science, technology, and innovation policies that foster inclusive technological progress.
The Report 2025 calls for AI that puts people first and is shaped through global cooperation in which all countries have a say. The Report identifies three key leverage points – infrastructure, data, and skills – offering a broad socioeconomic perspective on AI while analyzing requirements and policies to promote sustainable industrialization and innovation.
The sub-indices of readiness for frontier technologies in 2025 show that Iran’s best ranking is in the research and development sub-index (35th in the world).
In the finance sub-index, the country’s ranking has improved from 62 in 2022 to 56 in 2025. In other sub-indexes like skills and the establishment of information and communication technology, its ranking has lowered from 74 and 78 in 2022 to 82 and 94 in 2025, respectively.
MT/MG