Minister of Science pays official visit to Albanian Ministry of Innovation and Public Administration

Minister of Science Sanja Damjanović paid an official visit to the Ministry of Innovation and Public Administration of the Republic of Albania, on 25 July 2017, during which she met with Minister Milena Harito and her team. The goal of the visit was to present the Initiative for the establishment of the International Scientific Institute for the development of sustainable technologies in Southeast Europe, with the mission "Science for Peace".

Minister of Innovation and Public Administration of the Republic of Albania Milena Harito, during the meeting, expressed full support for further implementation of the Initiative and stated that she is glad that Albania can contribute to this excellent project, which can certainly significantly improve the quality of scientific research and scientific capacity in the region.

The Initiative will contribute to economic development, improvement of living standards, reduction of unemployment and outflow of young experts from the region, which are currently one of the biggest challenges the region faces, it was estimated at the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Vesna Radonjić, Adviser to the Ambassador of Montenegro to Albania Dušan Mrdović.

The Government of Montenegro was the first in the region to officially support this initiative. The interest for the Initiative in the previous period was expressed by the ministers of science of the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Professor Herwig Schopper (former Director General of CERN) is the main initiator of the establishment of the International Institute in Southeast Europe, and the Initiative has the support of the UN, UNESCO, CERN, and the Commissioner for Science and Innovation at the European Commission Carlos Moedas, with whom Minister Damjanović met in May in Brussels.