The regional meeting of technology and innovation support centers in the Arab region kicked off Wednesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, which is being held by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) via video conference technology over two days, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, and with the support of the Japanese Patent Office. Dr. Maha Bakhit, Minister Plenipotentiary and Director of the Legal Affairs Department at the League of Arab States, said in a statement that the meeting aims to review the latest developments in the field of innovation and technology support center networks, and the efforts made by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to launch the regional network of technology and innovation support centers in the Arab region. She pointed out that the meeting is an important opportunity to exchange national experiences on best practices, lessons learned and challenges facing national networks of technology and innovation support centers in Arab countries . She noted that expanding the scope of technology and innovation support centers in the Arab region, while ensuring their effectiveness and vitality, can play a positive role in encouraging and promoting economic actors, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, as well as relevant stakeholders, such as women and youth, to use their intellectual property assets, in order to enhance their competitiveness and benefit from their business strategies, thus contributing to enhancing economic growth and sustainable development. The meeting is attended by representatives of government intellectual property offices and technology and innovation support centers in Arab countries, and a number of experts from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Source: Qatar News Agency