Government of the Azores reiterates in Canary Islands commitment to install AIR Centre in the archipelago
The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology reiterated in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, the "commitment" of the Regional Government to install the Atlantic International Research (AIR) Center in the Region, contributing to "the development of scientific activity" in the archipelago.
Gui Menezes spoke on Tuesday at the 1st Spanish-Portuguese Meeting on the AIR Center that aimed to raise awareness and strengthen the link between the Portuguese and Spanish Research, Development and Innovation systems associated with the goals of creating this international research centre.
During this meeting, the several scientific and technological areas in which Spain could potentially contribute with infrastructure and knowledge were presented and debated, in particular in the areas of Space, Astronomy, Ocean and Climate Change, Oceanographic Observatories, Marine Energies and Supercomputing.
On the Portuguese side, national and regional researchers and institutions presented some infrastructures and projects underway in Portugal and the Azores, which could also contribute to the goals of the AIR Center; some already have partners from the Canary Islands.
At the end of this meeting, " the interest of Spain in contributing to the implementation of the AIR Center was clear," the Regional Secretary said, noting that this meeting "emerged following the high-level meeting that took place in April on Terceira Island," designated as Atlantic Interactions. It was attended by about thirty countries.
In addition to the Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology, the Spanish-Portuguese Meeting on the AIR Center was also attended by the official responsible for Azores Mission Structure for Space (EMA-Space) and the President of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) of Portugal as well as several Portuguese and Spanish researchers and representatives of several research institutions and universities in the Iberian Peninsula.
Moreover, the meeting was also attended by members of the Government of Spain and the Canaries, namely the Delegate of the Spanish Government in the Autonomous Community of the Canaries, the Secretary-General for Science and Innovation and the Head of the Canary Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society.