Egypt and the European Commission (EC) signed Wednesday an Implementing Arrangement for mutual assistance under Article 2 of the agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Union and Egypt. It finalises the terms and conditions for the participation of Egypt in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA). The agreement will support the scientific research and innovation in the areas of sustainable management of water and food systems in the Mediterranean countries by pooling know-how and financial resources in a strategic research partnership between the EU and participating states, including Egypt. The agreement was signed by Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, head of EU Delegation to Egypt, and Mohamed Shinawi, adviser to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for International Relations. The signing ceremony took place in Cairo in the presence of Egypt's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. PRIMA is jointly funded by the EU (€220m), with the rest of the budget coming from the 19 participating states empathising the notion of co-ownership and co-funding. Ambassador Surkoš said that this is the largest research and innovation initiative in the history of Mediterranean. The goal of this initiative is to build stronger scientific exchanges and knowledge flows across the Mediterranean shores in two critical areas: agro-food chains and sustainable water management. Devising new approaches to improve water availability and sustainable agricultural production are important both to EU and Egypt, he noted. Surkoš also highlighted, “PRIMA is a materialisation, not the only one – but certainly an important one, of shared vision between the EU and Egypt. This partnership has already become a key building block in the EU-Egypt relationship.”
