Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Hossein Simaei Sarraf, spoke at the 10th meeting of education ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries in Minsk. Sarraf stressed that universities should be kept out of war and called for a stronger global stance to protect scientific institutions.
The minister thanked Belarus and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization secretariat for hosting the meeting. In his speech, he drew attention to transboundary issues such as climate change, water and energy shortages, food security and developments in artificial intelligence.
Sarraf said these topics make joint and coordinated scientific cooperation compulsory for humanity in the future. He stated that the civilizational heritage and academic capacity of the organization's member countries provide an important basis for this cooperation.
Emphasis on red line for universities
The Iranian minister stated that Iranian universities were damaged and some scientists were killed during US and Israeli attacks over the past year. He said that scientific and cultural institutions should be considered a red line in every conflict and that universities should be safe spaces for thought, dialogue and hope, not victims of war.
Sarraf called on the world's scientific community and international organizations to adopt a clearer, more responsible and more resolute stance for the safety of universities, academics and science centers. He argued that the security of universities cannot be separated from the future of humanity.
In his speech, he also stated that Iran had lost professors and researchers dedicated to expanding the frontiers of education and knowledge. He characterized the US and Israeli attacks on Iranian universities as attacks on the global scientific community and said that silence in the face of such acts would pave the way for violence against science and civilization to continue.
Call for cooperation in artificial intelligence and health
Sarraf noted that Shanghai Cooperation Organization members have significant capacities in fields such as artificial intelligence, basic sciences, advanced materials and public health. He said these advantages should be turned into a problem-focused cooperation network.
The minister said that in the future, the success of universities would not be measured only by knowledge production but also by their impact on people's quality of life. His speech brought the topics of scientific solidarity and academic security back to the forefront among regional countries.
