Top EU official seeks to boost science partnership in Africa
NAIROBI — European Union Commissioner Janez Potocnik is due in Kenya next week as part of his African tour to boost the Science Partnership between the African Union and the European economic and political bloc.
A statement from the EU Mission in Kenya said on Friday that Potocnik will be in Kenya on Monday on his way to Ethiopia for further consultations on the international science and technology cooperation between the EU and the AU.
"The objective of his mission to Kenya is to meet with the minister for higher education, science and technology. Kenya is the current chair of African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST III)," the statement said.
It noted that the EU commissioner will also be briefed on the current state of affairs and future strategic orientations of the EU–AU Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space.
"From September 7 to 9, he will hold high-level political meetings and will visit EU-supported research centers in Nairobi (Kenya) and in Addis-Ababa (Ethiopia)," the statement said.
This visit takes place in the framework of the Science and Technology Partnership established between the AU and the EU in December 2007.
This unique partnership between two continents aims to strengthen African research capacity in the area of science and technology, enabling Africa to produce and use its own scientific knowledge to address its development challenges and emerge on the global scientific scene.
"Science is not a luxury for Africa but crucial to finding sustainable solutions to the many challenges Africa faces. The partnership puts the EU-AU cooperation on new footing: a true partnership of equals where the EU works not so much for Africa as with Africa," he said.
Potocnik said, "Africans decide their own research priorities and together, we will build strong research capacity that can encourage and retain local talent and attract foreign scientists."
He said the partnership involves the 53 AU member states and the 27 EU member states and will highlight the need to further coordinate the efforts of these 80 states to ensure that this partnership will make a difference.
The EU commissioner is also expected to visit research infrastructure such as the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development in Nairobi which promotes the development and use of geo-satellite images in the sustainable development of Africa, the National Agricultural Laboratory and the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
(by Daniel Ooko | Xinhua)
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