The Ministers of Science, Technology, Brazil Innovations and Communications, Gilberto Kassab, and the Norwegian Education and Research Torbjørn Roe Isaksen, signed on Tuesday (20) a joint declaration to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The document extends to March 31, 2020 the commitment made in 2008 between the two countries. According to Kassab, it is an opportunity for the launch of joint public calls and exchange of researchers through agreements already signed by the National Scientific and Technological Development Council (CNPq) and the Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep) with the Research Council of Norway (RCN, its acronym in English).

"Our expectation is that this visit will give us the opportunity to re-establish partnerships and, more than that, jointly initiate a series of actions to strengthen our public policies linked to the system under the ministry responsibility," Kassab said.

According to Isaksen minister, the Norwegian strategy of science, technology and innovation for the period 2016-2020, known as Panorama, placed Brazil as one of six priority countries for cooperation outside the European Union. "Within the document, emphasized the need to receive Brazilian students, as happened in recent years by the Science Without Borders program, but also highlight the interest of our students come to universities here," he said.

He also expressed the Norwegian commitment to "build an even better relationship and stronger" with Brazil. "We consider important to have a ministerial working group, because, for a bilateral relationship is consolidated in the long term, it is necessary to approximate the institutions. Thus, we can identify areas of common interest and plan concrete mechanisms to be the basis of our collaboration in the future."

Cooperation

For the Secretary of Technology and Innovation MCTIC Development, Alvaro Silver, Norway is a reference for Brazilian science. "As we go deeper in the search for oil, for example, we mirrored in on you," he said. "With the advent of pre-salt and, above all, the expectation of its major impact on our economy, your country stated in our imagination, because perhaps the nation that best handled the success of owning a great source of natural resources by not allowing a much broader area related to science, technology and innovation could be exclusively dependent on oil and gas. "

In 2013, the two countries formalized the interest to cooperate in oil and gas through the Brazil-Norway Strategy for the 21st Century (BN 21). In 2015, Finep and RCN released a notice to support partnerships between companies and research institutions in developing technologies for the sector. While Finep contributed $ 5 million for economic support, the Nordic Research Council contributed R $ 4.4 million non-reimbursable funds. The supported projects are developed in the areas of environmental and subsea technologies and enhanced oil recovery.

Silver stressed that the federal government supports a local content policy through the Programme to Stimulate Competitiveness of Supply Chain, Development and Enhancement Suppliers of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sector (Pedefor). "We are very concerned to develop and improve domestic suppliers in the industry. And we want to count, as always, with the partnership of the Norwegian, whether companies, institutions or government, to help us to increase this rate."

Climate

The Secretary of Policy and Research and Development Programs of MCTIC, Jailson de Andrade, highlighted the bilateral cooperation on climate change, particularly through the cooperation of Norway with the Amazon Fund, managed by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) in order to attract investment in prevention, monitoring and combating deforestation and promoting conservation and sustainable use of the Amazon rainforest.

Jailson reinforced the desire of MCTIC to include marine research cooperation. "Brazil has expanded enough its presence in the South Atlantic and now has the Research Ship Hidroceanográfico Vital de Oliveira, one of the most modern in the world," he said. "We would like to cooperate with Norway in polar research in the Arctic or Antarctic, through access of Brazilian scientists based on Svalbard. At the same time, the Norwegian colleagues take advantage our infrastructure in the South Atlantic and Antarctica."

Also attended the meeting the presidents of Finep, Marcos Cintra, and the National Council of State Research Support Foundations (Confap), Sergio Gargioni, and the directors of Agricultural Sciences, Biological and CNPq Health, Marcelo Morales, and Themes scientific and Technology of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), Benedicto Fonseca Filho. The Scandinavian delegation, attended the Ambassador of Norway, Aud Marit Wiig, the director of the RCN, Arvid Hallén, and rectors of the three universities.

United Kingdom

The minister Gilberto Kassab also received on Tuesday the UK ambassador to Brazil, Alexander Ellis, who presented the FameLab Brazil initiative approach between scientists and the public. The project is present in 32 countries.

"It's kind of fame laboratory where scientists expose their work in three minutes in a competitive manner. People can vote and choose the best projects. They already have the FameLab working in various parts of the world and the idea is to expand for the whole country. the MCTIC, through the Secretariat of Policies and Programs of Research and Development are interested, and we will now start drawing the agreement, "said Secretary of Jailson Andrade.

He and the ambassador also dialogued on a MCTIC cooperation agreement with the British weather service, the Met Office, around climate modeling, carbon cycle and natural disasters.