peter
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has officially opened the 18th session of the Council of Ministers of African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) here where he has stressed the need to bridge the socio-economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
In his keynote address, President Mnangagwa said being an advocate of intellectual property himself, he was pleased to receive an invitation to attend the ARIPO Council of Ministers meeting, which enables him to add his voice in support of the ongoing creativity and innovation drive within the continent of Africa.
“Africa will not mourn about the lost opportunities during previous industrial revolutions and colonialism. We cannot change the past, the future is in our hands. Africa is rising, and our time is now,” said President Mnangagwa.
“Through organisations such as ARIPO we must, therefore, create an enabling intellectual environment to bridge the socio-economic divide that exists between our continent and the rest of the developed world.”
ARIPO is an intergovernmental organisation that grants and administers Intellectual Property (IP) titles on behalf of its member states and provides IP information to its clientele in the form of search services, publications and awareness creation.
Its membership is open to all AU member states and currently there are 21 members namely Botswana, ESwatini, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leonne., Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The hybrid conference started on Tuesday and will end tomorrow.
more to follow…
Online Reporter