Bahrain up the ladder of Innovation

Manama : With remarkable display of its innovation prowess, Bahrain has climbed up two rungs of the Global Innovation Index (GII) ladder this year.

As per the annual report that compares the innovative ability of 128 nations, Bahrain performed well in areas such as Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs), government’s online service, e-participation, cost of redundancy dismissal and tertiary inbound mobility.

The report ranked the Kingdom as the 57th most innovative economy in the world with an index score of 35.5.

While the Kingdom ranked higher than most countries in the Middle East, some of the Gulf nations such as UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were placed above Bahrain.

However, the Kingdom has made steady progress over the years, by moving up 10 slots since 2013.

The GII report has been prepared every year by the Paris-based business school Insead, Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, a United Nations agency.

Switzerland topped the index while Sweden, UK and USA were ranked second, third and fourth respectively. The report noted there is a significant divide between developed and developing countries. 

Researches pointed out that R&D has been crucial in making progress. 

“Typically the countries that have been repeatedly part of the top 25 of the GII—or those, such as China, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, that have made continuous and rapid progress, we see a common pattern by which innovation has remained a key priority, supported by a steady flow of R&D spending,” it stated.

“Since the release of the GII report last year, the world economy has encountered a number of challenges that have led to further downgrades of global economic growth projections. 

“In the context of such uncertainty, countries will seek ways to move the global economy out of its current holding pattern, thus avoiding a prolonged low-growth scenario. Innovation will be a critical ingredient to achieving this objective,” the report pointed out.