The Algerian parliament has approved a bill to spend 100 billion Dinars (US$1.48 billion) on science over five years.
The budget — unusually high for the Arab world — "aims at reversing brain drain and bringing our scientists back home," Abdelhafid Awrag, head of the Scientific Research Department at the country's Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Approved last month (23 May), the bill will allow the country to double its expenditure on scientific research, from 0.5 to one per cent of its GDP — way ahead of the 0.2 per cent average in Arab countries, according to Awrag.
Some 34 research programmes will be implemented during the first phase of the project, while the number of scientific researchers will increase from 21,000 to 28,000 and the number of scientific labs to 1,200 in five years, said Awrag.
Funded programmes will cover areas such as agriculture, health and energy, with emphasis on applied research and technology