For the first time in the CEI’s history the Serbian Presidency organised a meeting of CEI Ministers of Science and Technology, in Trieste on 19 October 2011. Delegations from CEI Member States attended the meeting, including 6 Ministers and 6 Deputy Ministers and other high officials, as well as a representative of the European Commission (Directorate General for Research and Innovation) and other guests.
The meeting was divided into two sessions, one held at the Synchrotron Light Laboratory “Elettra” and one at the CEI Headquarters, both chaired by Zarko Obradovic, Serbian Minister of Education and Science.
The delegations also visited the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), which already sees the participation of 11 out of the 18 CEI Member States. The meeting itself aimed at promoting research and development in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries, by strengthening the links between the investments in research infrastructures and the development of common research and innovation policies connected to the European Union Framework.
Special focus was devoted to the opportunities for synergies among the scientific communities in CEI countries and the Elettra and Free Electron Laser Laboratory “Fermi” as well as the ICGEB; to the development of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary regional R&D project in the field of Next Generation Biofuels; and to the possibility of specific financial support by the EC in order to accomplish these objectives. In this context, the participants unanimously adopted several resolutions called “Trieste Declaration”.
photo: Andrea Lasorte