ISTANBUL, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Technology Bank for the least developed countries was inaugurated on Monday in Turkey's northwestern city of Gebze, with a view to boosting the science, technology and innovation capacity of these countries and facilitating the transfer of technologies to them.
"With the establishment of the Technology Bank, Turkey will have made a major contribution to the achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
There are currently 47 countries on the UN list of the least developed countries.
The SDGs, known as a universal call for actions to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all peoples enjoy peace and prosperity, came into effect in January 2016.
According to the UN, the establishment of the Technology Bank is expected to be the first target to be met under the SDGs.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed described the opening of the bank as an important step taken within the UN system to prevent underdevelopment and poverty.
"As UN we will provide our full support to the bank to make it reach its full potential," she said at the opening ceremony.
For her part, Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Marianne Hagen highlighted the importance of technologies to be widely used in the least developed countries.
"We want to increase the research capacity of these countries and the production of information. At the same time, we want to develop projects on gender equality, human rights, climate change and corruption," she said.
Faruk Ozlu, Turkey's minister of science, industry and technology, promised contributions by Turkish institutions to the Technology Bank in terms of both providing human resources and creating new projects and cooperation possibilities.
Turkey has pledged to provide the bank with a financial contribution of 2 million U.S. dollars per year for five years from 2017, the minister said, adding Ankara will also cover the administrative expenses of the bank.
Norway has donated more than one million dollars to the bank, while Sudan, Bangladesh and the Philippines have promised to make contributions, according to the UN.
