IN LONDON: The European Union and Nigeria opened negotiations for a bilateral science and technology cooperation agreement, with the aim of boosting cooperation on research and innovation.
A bilateral EU-Nigeria science and technology cooperation agreement would provide a political framework to assess past cooperation, discuss lessons learnt and jointly determine future actions, in line with the priority areas of the bilateral cooperation and the multilateral 10-year African Union (AU)-EU Innovation Agenda.
Negotiations took place in parallel with the second EU-Nigeria Science and Innovation Day (24 February) in Lagos. Science and Innovation Day brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers to celebrate the vibrancy of EU-Nigeria cooperation.
Over the past few years, EU-Nigeria’s cooperation on science, technology and innovation has been growing progressively. Some of the achievements include Nigeria’s growing participation in the Horizon Europe framework program and in the Global Health European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3.
In Horizon Europe, 55 projects involving Nigerian entities have received grants so far, mostly in health, food, agriculture and environment. These involve 65 participations by Nigerian organisations, benefitting from a budget of €20 million ($33.32 million).
A total of 15 Nigeria-based organisations participate in these projects, receiving €9 million.
The EU has bilateral science and technology cooperation agreements with five African countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: European Commission
