My country is blessed with many natural resources.  The economy of Malaysia the third largest in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Brunei, and 28th largest in the world. Malaysia aspires to contribute to the scientific and technological civilization of the future, and not just a consumer of technology (thus raising its GDP, see the sixth challenge on the link).  With this, science has been given an even more prominent position in the curriculum at every level.  The present Prime Minister has recently said 'There is a need for us to ensure the new generation of young children who are very passionate about STEM so that we really want to choose STEM as a career.'

http://www.wawasan2020.com/vision/p2.html

Definitely, Scientific researches pave path to Technology advancements and hence to overall development of a nation. It creates employment opportunities, income generation and better infrastructure. All these factors are influential factors of GDP.

Please read some useful write-ups in this area attached herewith.

http://www.scidev.net/global/r-d/news/basic-science-linked-to-faster-economic-growth.html

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/science-predicts-wealth-better-than-gdp

My country is blessed with many natural resources.  The economy of Malaysia the third largest in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Brunei, and 28th largest in the world. Malaysia aspires to contribute to the scientific and technological civilization of the future, and not just a consumer of technology (thus raising its GDP, see the sixth challenge on the link).  With this, science has been given an even more prominent position in the curriculum at every level.  The present Prime Minister has recently said 'There is a need for us to ensure the new generation of young children who are very passionate about STEM so that we really want to choose STEM as a career.'

http://www.wawasan2020.com/vision/p2.html

The report, commissioned by Australia's Chief Scientist and the country's leading scientific academy, shows advanced sciences contribute more than $145 billion directly to the economy every year, roughly 11 per cent of GDP, and .... because the contribution of science to economic activity was easy to take for granted, yet economic growth would suffer without continued scientific development.

Without ongoing increases --- in human knowledge, including technical progress, any of the other factors driving economic growth will eventually encounter diminishing returns, and growth will slow.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/science-directly-contributes-145b-to-gdp-report-20150325-1m6m63.html

Productivity in basic sciences correlates with economic growth, but does not directly cause it. Scientific productivity is a better wealth growth predictor than many other competitiveness indices. Preferential investment in technology, without investment in basic sciences, achieved little economic development.