During the second half of the past century, many countries in the Islamic world began a trend of sending their young sons and daughters abroad to study in industrial countries on scholarships with the aim of seeking an advanced and better education. In order for these Islamic countries to develop, implement reforms, and advance in terms of technology they themselves were in need of highly trained professionals.
Yet, after finishing their education and training many of the students decided to take up permanent residence in the Western countries they had studied in. In fact, many professionals who had come back home decided to return to the countries in which they had obtained their education because of two reasons. Either they didn’t feel comfortable and unable to adjust in their home countries or because of a lack of appropriate job opportunities.
It is no wonder that developing countries, including Islamic countries, spend only three percent of their budgets on scientific research and development. On the other hand Western countries spend 97 percent of their budgets on research projects. This is in spite of the fact that the population of developing countries is only 3 billion — a minimum number compared to the population in developing countries.
Unfortunately, advanced countries not only encourage migration to the West but they also tend to offer appealing packages with attractive perks to keep professional, educated and highly skilled people working for them.
The problem is that the number of scientifically skilled workers from the Islamic world migrating to the West might increase in order for the West to meet the requirements of the international market. When it comes to the crunch, rich countries have better techniques and systems than developing countries in attracting and keeping a professional workforce.
Therefore, I believe that domestic investments within the Islamic world will be able to make an enormous contribution in encouraging professionals to return home, support development plans and contribute to the economic growth of their respective countries. Such moves would refresh the commercial and financial sectors of a country and help in achieving beneficial outcomes.
