At the end of last week, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) have adopted a new EU-Africa Innovation Agenda, which will help to enhance cooperation in science, technology and innovation between the two continents over the next decade.
The Agenda includes four objectives, with short-, medium- and long-term actions, grouped according to the priority areas of AU-EU cooperation in research and innovation, namely public health, green transition, innovation and technology and capacities for science, in addition to several cross-cutting issues. Implementation of these actions will help to reach the objectives of the Agenda within specific timeframes.
It is hoped that the new Agenda will help to transform and increase the innovative capacities and achievements of European and African researchers and innovators into tangible outputs, such as products, services, businesses and jobs.
Why is this relevant for Horizon Europe?
Policy developments like this one heavily impact the thematic Horizon Europe calls for proposals, which focus on cooperation between the EU in Africa. In the past similar developments resulted in the introduction of the Africa and Mediterranean Initiatives in the 2023-2024 Work Programme of Horizon Europe.