The «BLUEMED Days» in non-EU countries: first steps towards closer cooperation for blue jobs and growth through marine and maritime research and innovation around the Mediterranean basin

«We restate our belief that strengthening Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in research and innovation contributes to fully tap the potential of economic growth and sustainable development of the Mediterranean» declared at La Valletta the EU and UfM R&I ministers, together with the EU Commissioners, not later than one year ago. The first operational steps towards the Implementation  of the Valletta Declaration are being taken during the next two weeks with the first BLUEMED National events in non-EU Countries. This process is also accompanied by the setting-up of the Group of Senior Officials BLUEMED Working Group (GSO BLUEMED WG) as governing body of the BLUEMED Initiative.

The encounters will be held respectively in Algiers (Algeria), in La Marsa (Tunisia), in Ankara (Turkey), in Alexandria (Egypt) and in Amman (Jordan). Participants will discuss the state of cooperation around the Mediterranean basin, they will confront on the key enabling knowledge, technologies and sectors needed to sustain and foster blue growth and sustainability in the area and will elaborate on the next activities. All this  to meet the challenges of the future.

These dialogue meetings, organised by the national delegates of the GSO BLUEMED WG, will be attended by representatives from the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat (UfM), the European Commission, and the BLUEMED CSA (the Horizon2020 funded Project). They will realise one important objective of the BLUEMED Initiative, aimed at sharing information and create a knowledge-base among the Mediterranean countries as well as agree on common targets and objectives. These dialogues  will therefore keep together the two poles of a renewed engagement to foster research and innovation in the marine and maritime-related fields and promote scientific diplomacy among the concerned countries. Participants will be engaged in providing inputs to the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, as first milestone towards establishing shared priorities and starting the development of an implementation plan to realise joint actions. After this tour in non-EU countries, the BLUEMED members will gather again next October, at the BLUEMED week in Barcelona that will be held at UfM premises from the 23^rd to the 25^th of October 2018.

«Understanding and addressing key challenges in the Mediterranean area» and «creating more opportunities for youth» – i.e. the final objectives agreed in the Valletta Declaration – will be one step closer, with the first involvement of the non-EU Mediterranean countries, during the next two weeks.

•  Where and when:
  • June 25^th 2018 at ENSSMAL, Algiers, Algeria;
  • June 26^th 2018 at the El Mouradi Gammarth Hotel, La Marsa, Tunisia;
  • June 27^th 2018 at TÜBİTAK, Ankara, Turkey;
  • July 3^rd 2018 at the Higher Council for Science and Technology, Amman, Jordan;
  • July 16^th 2018, Alexandria, Egypt.

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