ABSTRACT
Africa and Europe are intensifying their cooperation in various areas of science and technological development and building capacity for expanding the knowledge base and fostering innovation. This is manifested in the growing number of collaborative science, technology and innovation (STI) initiatives that have been launched in the last decade. This chapter discusses the evolution of STI cooperation between Africa and Europe within the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) and related policy instruments. It highlights the need to strengthen technology and innovation cooperation, moving beyond the established research and development (R&D) or science initiatives towards more equitable sustainable partnerships in product and process development. Greater private sector participation, including by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is recommended to spur more technology development and innovation. The future of Africa-Europe STI cooperation is in building bi-regional partnerships for SDG9- industry, infrastructure and innovation, in addition to the current focus on food and nutritional security (SDG2), health and well-being (SDG3) and climate change (SDG13).
