On May 4, 2023, the scientific cooperation of the countries of the Black Sea Basin reached a new state in its ascendancy - the launch of the Implementation Plan of the Strategy Agenda for Research and Innovation (PI ASCI) for the Black Sea. The Republic of Moldova, being known for its well-developed potential in the field of aquatic sciences, the most important here being the performance level of local researchers, was connected as an active partner to the development of the aforementioned strategy and plan, from the very beginning, through involvement in the activities common in 2017 and earlier. Namely, the fairly visible weight of projects dedicated to the study of aquatic resources, implemented by Moldovan scientists in the fields of natural sciences, has contributed to obtaining the capacities indicated to manifest in this sense. Current examples are the State Program 2020-2023 with 166 projects, where 19 of them are focused on the theme of water, under various aspects: environment, climate change and energy - 11, agriculture - 4, societal challenges - 3, antimicrobial resistance - 1; 1 Moldovan-Turkish bilateral project in the field of environment; 1 project in the field of antimicrobial resistance within the joint action JPIAMR and 20 other collaborative projects within the European Programs PC7, H2020 and HEU. Finally, it is important to mention our role as a partner in the BRIDGE-BS, DOORS projects, and the Black Sea CONNECT project, namely the area where the actions are carried out, resulting in the documents launched at the event in the European Parliament premises.

 

These advances have every right to serve as good examples of the involvement of our country's stakeholders in the European Research Area (ERA), because, apart from the research and innovation activity, they have gone a bit further by providing input into the formation of the vision and the process of developing the framework of documents dedicated to cooperation policies. The given exercise is of major importance for all the actors of the European scientific community, both from the Member States and from the Associated Countries, thus foreshadowing the agendas for the future being considered the proposals, aspirations or grievances related to priorities. In the case of this partnership, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine organize public consultation events at their homes with the involvement of representatives of several sectors to present the national vision. In such a way the effort is worth it. Even if it is not remunerated at the moment, it will later have an effect to ensure favorable conditions of participation in favor of the party that exposes them.

The launch of ASCI's IP for the Black Sea takes place in a very important period for the evolution of the research and innovation system of the Republic of Moldova. In the process of updating and perfecting the national policy framework, reforming the education-research system, formulating themes for future project programs, but also planning the funding to be allocated, any input data is of great importance to help the authorities to better orient themselves to outline the form and content of Moldovan research, taking into account the alignment with the regional and European context of needs in socio-economic development.

At the highly rated meeting, the Moldovan side reported on the participation in the multi-year process of developing the strategic documents launched, emphasizing their importance both for increasing their own capacities, and for the added value offered for the development of the Black Sea Basin area, being exposed in the intervention of Mr. Sveatoslav POSTORONCĂ, senior consultant within ANCD. The expectations are high, but they have a chance of success, given the assurances of the young Black Sea Ambassadors, about whom the representative of the Republic of Moldova, Mrs. Aliona ISAC, spoke at the respective session. The Moldovan delegation was also attended by representatives of the academic environment in the country, some of the most active developers, executors and promoters of the agendas of projects related to the Black Sea: Dr. Tudor CASTRAVEȚ, Mr. Vitalie DILAN, Mrs. Elena CULIGHIN and Mrs. Lucia CĂPĂTINĂ.

The representative of the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, Mr. Viorel VULTURESCU, in his intervention mentioned the fact that the launch of PI ASCI does not represent the end of the journey, but the beginning of the dimension of cooperation in a new context. The multidisciplinary and multisectoral character of the Implementation Plan is also important to be brought to the notice. Within the 12 Actions, there will be projects with themes from the areas of: ecology, geology, biodiversity, energy, health, economy and cultural heritage, also for the education system, resulting in the upward trend of internationalization for domestic research and innovation .

The document includes research and innovation actions specifically designed to build viable support systems and innovative research and education improvement infrastructure. As the scientific pillar of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, the ASCI Implementation Plan is open to academia, funding organizations, industry, political actors and civil society to further promote these joint strategic actions to address the fundamental challenges of the Sea Blacks to the sustainable development of the blue economy.

The event was hosted and chaired by Mr. Marian-Jean MARINESCU, member of the European Parliament and member of SEArica, Co-organizers having the Black Sea CONNECT Project, the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, with the support of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions CPMR and the Balkan and Black Sea Commission BBSC.