Assa-Irada,
11, April 2008

A state commission in charge of science reform will be set up in Azerbaijan, according to a decree enacted by President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday.

The document said the profound economic and social crisis that started in the late 1980s had taken a dire toll on the scientific field.

"The severing of scientific relations, disruption of joint research plans, the collapse of a single financial system and other factors posed major hurdles on the road to the future development of science," the head of state indicated.

The decree stressed that there were currently departments, centers and laboratories under local institutes dealing with specific fields and academic institutions which have been conducting research via outdated methods that have been used for many years.

"Teams of employees capable of catching up with present-day requirements are facing hardship in implementing their scientific projects due to a week logistics and financial constraints."

The president also said that the aging generation of prominent scholars and decreasing interest of youngsters in science had caused a threat of weakening potential of personnel in the field.