New EU-Africa Innovation Agenda to enhance science cooperation
African Union flag
(BRUSSELS) - The African Union and EU adopted a joint innovation Agenda Wednesday, aiming to transform and increase the innovative capacities of European and African researchers and innovators.
The AU-EU Innovation Agenda will represent the mainstay of the cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation between Africa and Europe for the next decade.
The Agenda includes 4 objectives, with short-, medium- and long-term actions, grouped according to the priority areas of AU-EU Cooperation in Research and Innovation (R&I), namely Public Health, Green Transition, Innovation and Technology and Capacities for Science, in addition to Cross-cutting issues.
"The Innovation Agenda will represent the backbone of our cooperation supporting research and innovation actions with Africa," said EC vice-president Margrethe Vestager: "It aims to create tangible positive impact on the ground, such as tools for agricultural use, climate services and food systems transformation. Alongside cutting-edge medicines, biotechnologies and diagnostics."
The joint AU-EU Innovation Agenda is accompanied by a Roadmap providings an overview of the governance and coordination of the Agenda as well as an inventory of implementing initiatives. It will be constantly updated on a quarterly basis to include additional initiatives in the coming years. Several initiatives will contribute to its implementation, including programmes by the European Commission such as Horizon Europe and the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package, the AU Commission, EU and AU Member States and other organisations.
AU and EU Ministers of R&I are to meet in 2024 to review progress towards the implementation.
Today also sees the launch of the AU-EU Innovation Interface, which is part of the Innovation Talent Platform. It features information on initiatives and opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and investors, generated during the implementation of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. Among other resources, this Interface will give access to a new "AU-EU Deep Tech Transformation Training Scheme", addressed to innovators and entrepreneurs, is expected to start before the end of 2023.
AU EU innovation Agenda document
AU-EU Innovation Agenda factsheet