Belarus and Italy plan to hold the first meeting of the joint commission on cooperation in science and technology and announce a competition for scientific and technical projects in 2019. This was discussed today at a meeting between the Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology of Belarus, Alexander Shumilin, and the Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), Roberto Antonione, BELTA was informed by the press service of the SCST.
The SCST and the CEI expressed interest in intensifying cooperation, including in major European Union programs ("Horizon 2020", COST) and science conferences. Alexander Shumilin recalled that in 2017, during Belarus's presidency of the CEI, a ministerial conference on science and technology "Biotechnology for Healthy and Active Life in the CEI Region" was held in Minsk. More than 80 people from Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and other countries took part in the event. "We exchanged information on the current state and prospects for the development of scientific research in CEI countries in the field of biotechnology. We discussed specific project ideas and proposals for implementation in the region," he said.
Another ministerial conference on science will be held in Italy in September. The Belarusian side confirmed its participation in this event. In addition, according to the Italian side, the agreement between the governments of Belarus and Italy on cooperation in science and technology dated June 10, 2011, is planned to be ratified this summer.
The Central European Initiative is a regional forum for cooperation and consultation, promoting cooperation at the political, economic and cultural levels in Central and Eastern Europe. The CEI, founded in 1989, currently has 17 member states: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.