Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
In the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, a think tank of diplomacy in science and scientific authority has been established. The concept of diplomacy refers to policies dealing with friendly relations between countries. Scientific diplomacy in the same context, is the use of scientific cooperation between countries to address common problems and build constructive international partnerships based on wisdom, science, innovation, and technology. They are aimed to address national and global problems such as climate change, global epidemics and diseases. Therefore, diplomats who have the knowledge to establish political relations between countries, scientists who deal with the roots of scientific, technical and social problems, should be connected to learn from each other in order to provide the basis for optimal scientific diplomacy. Scientific diplomacy still lacks a formal educational pathway, so now is the time to seize the opportunity and plan the ground for international scientific and technical cooperation, so that communities can benefit from each other's knowledge and skills. Scientific authority implies scientific sultanate requiring optimal access and the use of the global network of knowledge. A person or a country can make better use of science if it is actively engaged in scientific contribution itself. The first step to be taken by leading countries in science, is to expand the frontiers of knowledge, they can then use the global network of science and knowledge to the extent of their scientific capability. In a sense, the role of scientific authority is to act as a scientific monitoring that watches the depth of the world. The more is its capability in doing so, more and deeper it will dive into the depths of the world to discover its original gems. The basis of scientific authority is the ability to make great and pristine discoveries and to disseminate underlying theories connected with such discoveries. Discovery, publications and dissemination are the essence of knowledge. If a scientific sultanate is achieved, it will facilitate other state functions and administration of the country leading to overall welfare for the people in the country. The relationship between scientific diplomacy and scientific authority is two-sided. Each can be source of strength and reinforcement of the other. We bring these statements here to let state and national governing authorities and decision makers to be informed of the alternatives discussed here and hopefully to take necessary actions that would be highly beneficial to our society. This is by supporting the development of science whereby supporting such actions and expediting their implementation, high benefits to the country can be realized.
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