Regional Arrangements for Technology Transfer

Most active in promoting international co-operation for technology transfer for the ASEAN countries at the subregional level is the ASEAN Secretariat located in Jakarta, Indonesia. After some years of preparatory work, the Secretariat has launched many research projects, workshops and some action programmes to promote technology transfer, firstly among the ASEAN countries themselves and, secondly between ASEAN and some non-ASEAN countries, such as industrial and newly industrializing countries. External assistance has often been extended to many of these ASEAN projects for promoting intra-ASEAN cooperation.

The subjects most extensively covered under these ASEAN projects promoting intra-ASEAN technology transfer have been in the area of biological science, for example, rice, rubber, palm oil, banana, pineapple, tapioca, timber and other tropical products chemistry. The traditional area of physical and engineering sciences has also been taken up as observed in the many projects on agricultural tools, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment and engineering for the construction and maintenance of roads, harbour, irrigation, dam and other physical facilities, typhoon and flood control, civil aviation and telecommunications equipment and systems. In addition, some medical research and workshop projects on tropical diseases, health and nutrition have been carried out. Furthermore, social-science subjects such as tourism, crime prevention, technical and professional education, mass media and public administration have in recent years been given increasing attention in their efforts for promoting technology transfer among the ASEAN countries.

These ASEAN efforts reflect an increasing awareness among the governments and peoples of the region, on the one hand, of the importance of sharing information and knowledge on the common technical problems facing them in their development process, and on the other, of the growing benefits resulting from such efforts towards an increased collective self-reliance and resilience among them.

Several issues have been confronting the ASEAN countries in such intra-ASEAN co-operative efforts for promoting technology transfer.