Asean Science Journalists To Exchange Ideas With EU Commissioner

SINGAPORE, Feb 29 (Bernama) -- The European Union's Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, will be meeting science journalists from Southeast Asia and Europe, here this weekend. In a statement, the Delegation of the European Union to Singapore said during her time in Singapore, Commissioner Quinn will call for closer ties in research and innovation between Europe and Singapore, and take stock of the good cooperation on science and technology between the EU and Asean. Commissioner Quinn is an Irish national and has held various Ministerial posts between 1979 and 1994, covering portfolios such as commerce, education, European affairs, tourism, transport and communication as well as justice. She was also a journalist with The Irish Times in the 1990s. According to the statement, specialised journalists from both Asean countries and Europe, invited in the framework of the Asean – EU Year of Science, Technology and Innovation 2012, will be able to exchange among them and with the Commissioner on recent research policy developments and the importance of international partnerships for research. Prior to the Commissioner's arrival, the European journalists will have toured four Asean countries to better understand progress in research and opportunities for cooperation with Europe in the region. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore will play host to the journalists and provide lab visits, science policy meetings, scientific workshops, press briefings, and science events. The Asean journalists were nominated by the Asean Committee on Science and Technology (ASEAN COST). The European journalists were nominated by leading science and technology publishers and come from Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Both Asean and European journalists will receive fresh information on the potential of science and technology in Asean countries and get to know practical examples for the potential of bi-regional research cooperation. Southeast Asia and Europe have maintained a science and technology collaboration partnership for years. -- BERNAMA