25-10-16 Asia-Europe meeting sets up Athens Coordination Office

The launch of cooperation in multiple areas and an upgrading of China-Greece bilateral ties in the areas of Research and Technology was the focus of talks between Alternate Education, Research and Religious Affairs Minister Costas Fotakis and the visiting Chinese General Secretary of the Research and Technology Ministry, Xu Jianpei.

The talks were held on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Seminar on Cooperation in Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development, on October 25 in Athens. There, Greece was designated as ASEM’s first European Coordination Office.

In opening the proceedings of the seminar, Fotakis remarked: “Today’s event demonstrates the decision of the Greek government to act as a pole of support of Eurasian cooperation on issues of Research and Technology, with the creation of ASEM’s European Coordination Office, in cooperation with the municipality of Beijing.

It should be noted that the multi-faceted cooperation promoted by ASEM is also intended to bolster the upgrading of bilateral relations between Greece and other countries of southeast Asia.

In Fotakis’ talks with Xu Jianpei, it was agreed to create a roadmap for the implementation of joint research projects, including the building of a Science and Technology Park in the Attica region, which will facilitate the transfer of technology between research institutions and between innovation enterprises of the two countries.

In that context, the prospect of joint initiatives in the areas of information technology, marine technologies, the agri-food sector, greenhouse technologies, and technologies for the development of coasts and harbours was discussed.

 In addition, there were proposals for the creation of a Research Centre-Observatory, with Chinese support, for the collection of seismological and volcanic data.

Finally, there was an agreement to develop an emblematic project, entitled “Civilisation, Cultural Heritage, Science and Technology”, which will include organising an exhibit on ancient Greek technology in Chinese cities in 2017, which has been proclaimed the Year of Greece-China Friendship. The initiative will also entail the transfer of advanced conservation techniques to Chinese museums.

Today’s talks came on the heels of bilateral cooperation agreements signed in July in China, during the visit of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.