PRETORIA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The South African government on Tuesday launched the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) affiliate center in Pretoria with World Economic Forum (WEF) to speed up development in the digital space.
During the launching ceremony, South African Minister of Science and Technology Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane signed the host government accord of the center with the head of the WEF center for fourth industrial revolution network, Murat Sonmez.
"The South African fourth industrial revolution affiliate centre is intended to be a hub for global, multi-stakeholder cooperation to develop policy frameworks and advance collaborations that accelerates benefits of science and technology," said Kubayi-Ngubane.
She said that the centre will assist the country in many aspects of the new digital age, like policy development.
Sonmez said the center plays a critical role globally and is an opportunity for any country to contribute to improve in the digital space. He said the center will benefit South Africa in many ways in the area of research and development.
"We delivered medicines in Rwanda using drones for example. We have a new drone every week and regulation based on aviation laws, has assisted to make this possible," he said.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research CEO Thulani Dlamini said initiative would enable the country to be part of the fourth industrial revolution network that would prepare for the transformation of the way things are done in various sectors.
He said this includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, block chain and distributed ledger technology and precision machine.
"This center has capabilities that will ensure we play a meaningful role in the advancement of South Africa, while improving service delivery," he said.
The affiliate center is expected to help the country's industries to move at an enhanced speed towards fourth industrial revolution. The official public launch of the centre will be in September 2019 by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the WEF Africa conference.
WEF established the center for fourth industrial revolution in March 2017 in San Francisco. It is a global hub for cooperation to advance collaboration that accelerates the benefits of science and technology.
