Economic Reporter :
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Tuesday said the research and innovative works are prerequisites to sustainable development.
The Speaker made the remark while inaugurating a seminar titled ‘EU Horizon 2020: Opportunities for Bangladesh’ arranged jointly by the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) at the MCCI conference room in the city.
Dr Shirin, also the Chairperson of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) executive committee, stressed the need for research and innovative works in the country’s agriculture sector to face adverse impacts of climate changes and salinity in coastal arable lands.
She said the Horizon 2020 is the biggest research programme of the EU, which started in 2014 and continue till 2020.
There is a scope for Bangladeshi and foreign experts to conduct joint research activities on important contemporary issues under the programme, she added.
The Speaker said the EU has already approved 15 proposals for joint research works from Bangladesh, said a Parliament Secretariat handout.
The seminar was aimed at raising awareness among Bangladeshi research and business community members about the Horizon 2020, a flagship research and innovation programme making available almost €80 billion euros to fund collaborative research projects by researchers from Europe and beyond, including Bangladesh.
With the idea of taking great ideas from the lab to the market, the programme is inviting collaborative research from across the world on science, technology to societal challenges involving both public and private sectors.
Bringing together participants from business, academia, research institutes, think tanks and the government, the seminar discussed the key issues on Horizon 2020, its rules of participation and partnership, and the R&I funding opportunities to address global societal challenges such as agriculture, food, health, aquaculture, water, climate change and energy.
Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon also spoke at the seminar held with MCCI President Nihad Kabir in the chair.
