A growing number of initiatives on nanotechnology
research, education, and industry have been recently launched by several Arab countries to quickly
build scientific capacity and track worldwide developments in nanotechnology. Some countries, namely, the oil-rich countries, have allocated large funds to support these initiatives, which are intended to serve the national interests in energy, water and food supply, medicine, and local industry. The other Arab countries are also pursuing nanotechnology, however, with fewer funds but with more human resources. This study assesses the current status of nanotechnology in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Kingdom of Morocco, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Tunisia, State of Kuwait, State of Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study is aimed at having a top-level overview of the status of existing, underdevelopment, and planed
educational and research programs relevant to nanotechnology. The overview also includes nanotechnology research focus areas, challenges, and opportunities.