Duque expresses Spain's support for the Atlantic Research Center
The Minister of Science, Pedro Duque, confirmed tonight the support of Spain for the initiative of the Government of Portugal to create in Azores the Atlantic International Research Center, AIR Center, with contributions from different countries in Europe, Africa and America.
Duque has welcomed the representatives of governments, scientific institutions and companies in the field of innovation to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which will attend the fourth high-level meeting on Monday to lay the foundations of the AIR Center.
Based in the Azores, this future international research center will operate in a network, with five fields of special interest: space, atmosphere, oceans, climate change and data and computer analysis technology.
"The synergies between these matters will result in a much better knowledge of the processes that govern the Atlantic and, therefore, provide solutions to the needs of citizens, if we take into account the rapid and global changes we all face," he said. Pedro Duque
The minister has announced that Spain will participate in this initiative through the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (Plocan), the great marine science and technology development infrastructure that its department administers in collaboration with the Government of the autonomous community, its other partner of reference.
This is the fourth high-level meeting held by the governments and institutions that promote the AIR Center. The previous ones were held in Portugal, Brazil and Cape Verde.
During two days, the AIR Center project will gather science ministers from several countries in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Portugal (Manuel Heitor), Nigeria (Christopher Ogbonnaya), Angola (Maria do Rosario), Sao Tome and Principe (Olindo) Daio) and Spain (Pedro Duque), in addition to the Secretaries of State that matter of Cape Verde (Amadeu Cruz) and Uruguay (Eduardo Manta).
Pedro Duque remarked before the attendees the "strategic" role that the Canary Islands can play in initiatives like this, "not only because of its geographical situation, but also because of its first level scientific infrastructures in many areas".
In fact, among the audience were the directors of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), Rafael Rebolo, and the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (Plocan), Octavio Llinas, agencies that manage two world reference centers in their respective fields, with infrastructures recognized as singular.
On behalf of the Government of the Canary Islands, its Economic Counselor, Pedro Ortega, has expressed the "maximum support" of the autonomous community to this initiative, at whose disposal it puts its main centers of science and innovation from this moment.
"The infrastructures of the Canary Islands favor the creation of an Atlantic International Research Center and can be a point of connection across the length and breadth of the ocean," he said.
