Al-Rajhi: Cabinet's decision is supportive to most vulnerable groups    King Salman appoints Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad as Royal Court advisor    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi Arabia's growing role as global industrial investment hub    Saudi Arabia adopts World Drowning Prevention Day as national health priority    Saudi defense minister and Iranian FM discuss regional developments    GACA imposes SR2.8 million in fines for 87 civil aviation violations in Q2 2025    Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point    ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over women's rights violations    Syria issues appeal to EU for help battling massive wildfires along northwestern coast    Total e-messages sent to parties in lawsuits reach over 11.8 million during first half of 2025    3 arrested in assault case in Riyadh    New Property Ownership Law will take into effect in January 2026 Al-Hogail thanks King and Crown Prince for the updated law    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Innovation continued despite COVID-19: New UN report
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 20 - 09 - 2021

Despite the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19, the new technology sector continued to thrive and prosper last year, the UN's intellectual property agency said in a new report published on Monday.
According to the findings of the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) latest Global Innovation Index, (GII) governments and enterprises in many parts of the world scaled up investments in innovation, demonstrating an acknowledgement that new ideas are critical for overcoming the pandemic.
"We expected a harsh slump in 2020 of around 3 per cent, however, the GII shows there are reasons to be optimistic... with governments showing foresight and not cutting spending," Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, WIPO Composite Indicator Research Section and GII co-editor, said at the launch of the report in Geneva.
Uneven impact
WIPO warned however that the impact of the crisis has been highly uneven across industries and countries.
In its annual ranking of the world's economies on innovation capacity and output, the GII showed that only a few economies, mostly high income, consistently dominate the ranks.
However, the Republic of Korea joined Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, and Britain, to make the top 5 of the GII for the first time in 2021, while four other Asian economies feature in the top 15: Singapore (8), China (12), Japan (13) and Hong Kong, China (14).
Selected middle-income economies, including Turkey, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, are also catching up and progress made last year by France (11) and China (12) are confirmed, as both are now knocking at the door of the GII top 10.
Showing resilience
According to a new GII feature — the Global Innovation Tracker — technology, pharmaceuticals and biotech industries, boosted their investments during the pandemic and increased their research and development (R&D) efforts.
Top technology companies like Apple, Microsoft and Huawei, increased investment on average about 10 per cent last year, and venture capital investment surged, a trend which is continuing this year, Wunsch-Vincent said.
In contrast, the transport and travel sectors were heavily hit by containment measures and cut back their outlays. The GII 2021 also shows that technological progress at the frontier holds substantial promise, with the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines being the greatest example.
"In spite of the massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many sectors have shown remarkable resilience — especially those that have embraced digitalization, technology and innovation," said WIPO Director General Daren Tang.
"As the world looks to rebuild from the pandemic, we know that innovation is integral to overcoming the common challenges that we face and to constructing a better future."
Global innovation landscape
The index ranks 132 countries, plus sub-economies such as Hong Kong, and comes a year after WIPO reported that investments in innovation had hit a record high in 2019, showing an average annual profit of 8.5 percent.
Northern America and Europe continue to lead the global innovation landscape, but, the Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania have been the most dynamic in the past decade and are the only regions closing the gap with the leaders.
According to the report, China is still the only middle-income economy that makes it to the top 30. Bulgaria (35), Malaysia (36), Turkey (41), Thailand (43), Vietnam (44), the Russian Federation (45), India (46), Ukraine (49), and Montenegro (50), do feature in the top 50.
However, only Turkey, Vietnam, India and the Philippines are systematically catching up, Beyond China, these larger economies have the potential to change the global innovation landscape for good, it said.
"The GII shows that although emerging economies often find it challenging to steadily improve their innovation systems, a few middle-income economies have managed to catch up in innovation with their more developed peers," former Dean and Professor of Management at Cornell University, Soumitra Dutta said.
"These emerging economies, among other things, have been able to successfully complement their domestic innovation with international technology transfer, develop technologically dynamic services that can be traded internationally, and ultimately have shaped more balanced innovation systems," he said. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.