Rabat – Morocco’s National Center for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (CNRST) and the Quebec Research Funds (FRQ) have signed an agreement to launch a joint funding program for research projects in health sciences, climate change, and water management.
The partnership aims to “conduct research related to major societal challenges, falling within approaches from diversified, interdisciplinary, intersectoral perspectives with a strong potential for building skills and developing innovative and sustainable solutions for both nations,” said FRQ in a press release.
The signing of the agreement is a first step toward implementing the scientific collaboration that the FRQ, CNRST, and Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation signed in September 2021 with the aim of developing research cooperation in artificial intelligence, agriculture, renewable energy, and health sciences.
FRQ Director Remi Quirion expressed his delight with the perspective adopted in the agreement, saying that “this new scientific bridge between Morocco and Quebec will strengthen our ability to respond to major societal challenges.”
Echoing Quirion’s sentiments, CNRST Director Jamila El Alami commended the joint efforts of the Ministry and the CNRST in strengthening international collaborations and improving Morocco’s scientific research.
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The agreement “reflects the CNRST’s desire to further promote scientific research and innovation by providing teacher-researchers with new resources and expertise to carry out new innovative projects,” El Alami added.
The FRQ said that it will release further information about the projects later this month, on May 31.
In a bid to further officialize the new partnership, a Quebec scientific delegation led by Remi Quiron paid a visit to Morocco’s Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation, and Research (MAScIR). The delegation consisted of representatives of the Quebec government and academic, technical, and research institutions and universities.
MAScIR’s executive director Nawal Chraibi welcomed the delegation into the foundation’s technology platform and showcased its innovative projects and achievements in the fields of medical and plant biotechnology, microelectronics, and nanotechnology.
Chraibi highlighted the foundation’s role in the advancement of applied research in Morocco and expressed its willingness to support Quebec scientific institutions and operators wishing to settle and develop partnerships in the North African country.
The visit was an opportunity for the foundation and the Quebec delegation to discuss their shared priorities “in terms of applied research, modes of business-university collaboration, technology transfer and development,” MAScIR said in a press release.
