Minister Damjanović in official visit to Republic of Croatia

On 16 May 2017, the Minister of Science of Montenegro Dr Sanja Damjanović paid an official visit to Republic of Croatia, using the opportunity to present the initiative to establish an international institute for sustainable technologies in South-eastern Europe to the Minister of Science and Education of Republic of Croatia Prof. Pavo Barišić.

The initiative to establish an international institute for the development of sustainable technologies in the region, which was designed by Prof. Herwig Schopper, former Director-General of CERN, with the support of the UN, UNESCO and CERN, is underpinned by common interests, taking into account primarily economic, cultural and social aspects. The Government of Montenegro was the first among the countries of the region to support the initiative, and given that the political support of other countries is necessary to successfully implement the initiative, Minister Damjanović met with her Croatian counterpart.

The Minister of Science and Education of Republic of Croatia Prof. Pavo Barišić expressed great interest in the initiative, saying that the idea of a scientific institute where young scientists from the region would work together is an exceptional concept contributing to promotion of the quality of science and cooperation. Additionally, Minister Barišić identified Hadron cancer therapy as the best idea for the time being, given that it includes a multidisciplinary approach and multiple benefits for residents of the region.

Minister Damjanović pointed out that such a project would significantly boost economic development, improve the living standard and reduce unemployment, explaining that it would represent a certain type of industrialization of the region based on sustainable technologies. In addition, the Minister of Science of Montenegro presented the next steps that are necessary in order to implement the initiative, such as the organization of training programmes for young scientists and researchers to be working on the project. Finally, Minister Damjanović explained that at a meeting held last week in Brussels the initiative was supported by Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, which is a powerful incentive for its further development.

The initiative to establish an international institute was also presented to the President of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Prof. Zvonko Kusić and academician Prof. Milko Jakšić, who expressed their interest in it and exchanged opinions with the Minister about the implementation timetable. The Croatian delegation also included Assistant Prof. Matko Glunčić, Secretary of State, Assistant Prof. Tomislav Sokol, Deputy Minister, Prof. Ivan Franić, Deputy Minister, Ivana Puljiz, Chief of Cabinet, and Staša Skenžić, Head of International Cooperation Department.

The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of Montenegro to Croatia, Boro Vučinić.

Among the topics of the meeting were also the development of bilateral cooperation and engagement in the development of joint projects, as well as the possibility of joint participation in the EU programme “Horizon 2020” and other international programmes for science and research.

The Ministry of Science of Montenegro has exceptionally successful bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Croatia. So far, four competitions have been published for co-financing scientific and technological cooperation, which opens the possibility of our scientists and scientific research teams to work with their Croatian colleagues on joint projects, as well as to develop mobility and exchange knowledge and experience, coming up with new insights as a result.