A new Research and Innovation agenda for the Mediterranean

• The UfM Regional Platform in Research and Innovation has approved new research agendas for the Mediterranean, on Climate Change, Health, and Renewable Energy.
• The Platform launched a call for a new ministerial meeting and the creation of an impactful implementation plan for its agendas.
• The UfM was also a partner in a workshop launching the Horizon Europe Programme in the Mediterranean.

7-8 July, Barcelona. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Platform in Research and Innovation (R&I) celebrated its 27^th meeting on July 7, attended by representatives of Ministries of Research. The aim of the meeting was to discuss and approve three new Roadmaps developed by a dedicated UfM Expert Group on R&I, corresponding to the three priorities of climate change, renewable energies, and health previously agreed by the Platform.

The meeting was opened by UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel, and was co-chaired by Maria Cristina Russo, Director for International Cooperation of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and Dr. Arafah Dia-Eddin, Secretary-General of Jordan’s Higher Council for Science and Technology.

The meeting included a joint presentation on the state of play and results of the Partnership for Research and Innovation the Mediterranean (PRIMA), evaluating its contribution to the joint EU-Mediterranean R&I policy agenda, and a discussion of initiatives and programmes to deliver the new UfM Roadmaps, including a proposal of an Implementation Plan to increase tailored investments for R&I and capacity-building collaboration across priority areas.

International cooperation on R&I has grown significantly in the Mediterranean, especially since the approval of the Euro-Med Valletta Declaration on Research and Innovation, and the approval by the Platform of these new agendas will pave the way for cooperating more effectively in the region in the future years. In this context, the Platform decided to start the process for a UfM Ministerial meeting on Research and Innovation.

“The three Research priorities of Climate Change, Health and Renewable Energy are at the heart of our Mediterranean challenges, and we need to tackle them together through research and innovation if we want to build back better,” said UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel.

The meeting of the UfM RP in R&I was followed on 8 July 2021 by the Regional Virtual Workshop “Horizon Europe Programme Launch – Addressing EUROMED Common Challenges through Research and Innovation Cooperation”.