Africa-EU Summit Science Dialogue Events

The running order is:

Declan Kirrane Chair SSUNGA76, AERAP
Maria Cristina Russo Director for Global Approach and International Cooperation in R&I at European Commission, European Commission
Sherry Ayittey Ghana
Solomon Benor Director General for Science and Research Affairs, Ethiopian Ministry of Education
Professor Intisar Soghayroun Professor, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Rahma Rachdi Correspondent - Head of Bureau, USPA, France
Svein Stølen Rector, University of Oslo, Norway
Souad Aden-Osman Executive Director, the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA)


The general topics for this session will include:
1. The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI, also known as Global Europe. The Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation is a key paper: ....to serve as a guide in implementing the international dimension of the new EU programme for civil research and innovation, Horizon Europe, and its synergies with other EU programmes, in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe.

2. How to accelerate an inclusive approach to collaborative research, recognising African leadership and the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to science and innovation.

3. Consider how to leverage synergies between funding mechanisms led by the EU and others including development finance provided by the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and others.

4. Raise awareness of the unforeseen and unintended impact of regulations on potential research collaborations with Africa. These include data privacy, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the In-vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR), the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the Clinical Trials Regulation. Good regulation cannot act as a barrier between African and EU and other researchers. African nations need to build their enabling regulatory environment and regulatory compliance with the EU.

5. Indigenous knowledge can be a force for good and part of the equation when promoting Africa-Europe science collaboration, including developing relevant information services and linking indigenous knowledge to data capacities; patent data. WTO TRIPS Art. 66.2 is critical to supporting technology transfer.   

6. The meeting will also consider the importance of the SDGs in this context, including enabling local and community (UN Local 2030) science as part of the global response.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) met in Kigali, Rwanda, on 26 October 2021, took stock of progress regarding the priority areas adopted during the last AU–EU Summit held in 2017, in Abidjan. The Communique provides some guidance on priorities for the AU-EU Summit on 17-18 Feb 2022.