The first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Higher Education and Scientific Research, will be held in Cairo on Monday 18th June 2007. The conference will be co-chaired by H.E. Dr. Hany Helal, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; H.E. Dr. Annette Schavan, German Minister of Education and Research, EU Presidency; and H.E. Dr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research. The conference will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel Cairo, Ring Road, Mirage City, Kattameya, and will be attended by representatives of the Ministries of Higher Education and Research of the members of the Euromediterranean Partnership (27 EU Member States and 10 Mediterranean partner countries).
The conference aims at examining ways and means of developing co-operation in the field of scientific research, upgrading the quality of higher education and vocational training in Mediterranean Partner Countries, as well as standards of University Education. A joint declaration will be issued at the end of the conference, entitled "Towards the Creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education and Research Area", which will define guidelines for future co-operation among all Euro-Mediterranean countries.
Education and Research, Technological Development and Innovation are of great importance to all Euro-Mediterranean partners and merit the highest attention in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This was confirmed by the Five-Year Work Programme agreed upon at the 2005 Barcelona Summit and emphasized by the conclusions of the 8th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Finland in November 2006.
