Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to welcome you all in Cyprus. I am sure that during the next two days you will have a fruitful and productive kick off meeting for the ‘Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety’ project. This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the EU, through the MED programme with 21 partners from seven different mediterranean countries and with the Department of Merchant Shipping being the Coordinating/Lead Partner.
I am convinced that the ‘Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety’ project is of strategic importance for the whole Mediterranean region. The successful implementation of the programme will improve maritime risks prevention, maritime safety, ecosystem protection, and will assist the operational response agencies by providing validated risk mapping.
As far as the Mediterranean region is concerned, we know that there are observation, monitoring and forecasting systems in the Mediterranean, such as the EMSA Clean Sea Net satellite images, the REMPEC network, the VTMIS-AIS systems, as well as the national ocean and oil spill forecasting systems.
Nevertheless, there has not been any integration of all these systems that would enable us to have a system addressing all issues regarding oil spill incidents in the Mediterranean region, that is prevention, early detection and control.
‘Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety’ will integrate all these different types of existing monitoring, observing and forecasting systems in the Mediterranean region, in a way that vital information regarding an oil spill incident will be transmitted automatically to all interested stakeholders, and subsequently analyzed and assessed.
Moreover, the transnational added value of the proposal is the fact that the proposed project addresses the problem of oil spill incidents in the Mediterranean region in a holistic manner, in other words, it attempts to optimize the cost effectiveness of prevention, detection and control of oil spills.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that many of the partners operate forecasting centers, at national and international level, and provide individually oil spill predictions at local and sub-regional level, while other partners act as response agencies to oil spill incidents. Therefore, the partners’ experience and their long existing collaboration with REMPEC and local response agencies will ensure the sustainability of the integrated multi - model oil spill prediction service long after the end of the project.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Government of Cyprus attributes great importance to Research and Technological Development (RTD), as it recognises its contribution towards the attainment of the development objectives in the fields of productivity and competitiveness, towards the acquisition of new knowledge and the adoption of advanced technology.
It is widely accepted that Research and Technological Development can prove to be an important factor in our efforts for economic and sustainable development. However, Research and Technological Development should be based on solid foundation. In Cyprus, our overall strategy related to RTD, taking into account today’s socio-economic conditions can be summarized as follows:
Correlation of RTD activities with the specific needs of the Cyprus economy
Promotion of RTD activities through the educational system
Strengthening of the relevant infrastructure
Taking all necessary measures to attract the large community of distinguished Cypriot expatriate scientists
Developing the required networking for the promotion of RTD activities
It is evident that the Government of Cyprus, having recognised the importance of Research and Technological Development, is already taking a number of steps towards the right direction.
Nevertheless, the prevailing level of RTD activities in Cyprus is not adequately high and the promotion of such activities needs long term planning, as well as consistent efforts and co-operation of all the stakeholders, such as the Government, the Planning Bureau, the Research Promotion Foundation, the Universities and, in general, the research community of Cyprus.
It is envisaged that in the foreseeable future, the gap in the level of RTD between Cyprus and developed countries in this area will be gradually diminished. And this project, the ‘Mediterranean Decision Support System for Marine Safety’, in which two Cyprus partners have a prominent role, the Department of Merchant Shipping and the University of Cyprus with its Oceanography centre, is a step towards this direction.
Having said that, I would like to congratulate all those who have worked hard so far, and all those who will work for the successful implementation of this important project, the results of which can prove to be significant for the protection of the environment and the overall safety of Mediterranean sea.
Having said that, the Government of Cyprus, through the Planning Bureau, will provide any possible assistance to the Leader and all the partners throughout the implementation of the project.
I wish you all again a productive kick off meeting and a wonderful stay in Limassol and in Cyprus.
Thank you very much for your attention.