The Joint EU-South Africa Science & Technology Committee meeting (8 December 2011, Brussels) highlighted the importance of encouraging participation by South African researchers in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and explored opportunities offered to EU researchers through South African funded programmes.

The meeting focused on strengthened research and innovation cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, mining and minerals as well as global change and earth observation. The cross-cutting issues of researcher mobility and frontier research were addressed as well.

The outcomes of the discussion will be used to supplement the report on current and planned cooperation.

Participants discussed the role of South Africa in strengthening EU cooperation with the rest of Africa in science, technology and innovation. They also exchanged views on recent policy initiatives in research and innovation in South Africa and the EU.

The meeting provided the opportunity to take stock of EU-South African cooperation in the field of science and technology in the framework of the Joint Africa-EU Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space. It investigated ways to enhance the scale and scope of cooperation through existing opportunities, and to increase the relevance and visibility of initiatives in this field in overall EU-South Africa relations.