Iran is ranked second in terms of the number of patent citations to scientific publications among Islamic countries, according to the Islamic World Science Citation Database (ISC).

According to The Iran Project,Scientific impact is often measured using citation counts, which is something common in scientometric studies, but these citations in technological environments can be considered as the impact of science on technology, IRIB quoted Ahmad Fazelzadeh, head of the ISC, as saying.

This index demonstrates the extent to which technological advances and innovations are based on the achievements and findings of scientific research, he added.

He went on to say, “In the 10-year period from 2012 to 2021, more than 99 million scientific papers have been published worldwide.

 A total of 1,341,732 out of 99 million documents have been cited in patents. During the same time period, 752, 421 scientific documents affiliated with Iranian organizations have been published. Out of that number, 13,058 documents have been cited 24,984 times by 22,248 patents.

In this time period, in terms of the total production of technological science, Iran, with 8,884 citations of patents, has taken second place among Islamic countries, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey ranked first and third, respectively.”

Iran ready to share technological expertise

In May, the deputy science minister said Iran is ready to share its technological expertise with other Islamic countries.

Science and technology should be applied in order to create world peace and human justice, and Muslim countries can bring peace and progress not only to the Muslim nations but also to human beings with unity and empathy, Vahid Haddadi-Asl said, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks at the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dialogue Platform (OIC-15) which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 25-26.

“Over the past years, despite the cruel sanctions imposed by the global arrogance against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have seen significant progress in the fields of education, research, and technology, which is a sign of reliance on Iranian scholars and scientists. We are always ready to share our technological expertise with other Islamic countries.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its duty to support science and technology diplomacy between Islamic countries, through conducting joint scientific projects in areas needed by Islamic countries, he highlighted.

The goal can be achieved through creating innovation zones and a union of science and technology parks of Islamic countries, activating the union of universities of Islamic countries, and also exchanging of professors and students, the official noted.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is the second largest organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents.

The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.

The Organization was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on 25 September 1969.

The Organization has consultative and cooperative relations with the UN and other inter-governmental organizations to protect the vital interests of Muslims and to work for the settlement of conflicts and disputes involving Member States.

In July 2022, Peyman Salehi, the deputy science minister, said despite U.S. sanctions, the international activities of Iranian scientists have increased year by year so that more than 35 percent of Iranian articles in Scopus have been multi-national projects.

Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and build constructive international partnerships.

It is a form of new diplomacy and has become an umbrella term to describe a number of formal or informal technical, research-based, academic, or engineering exchanges, within the general field of international relations.