Join-MED: Develop international co-operation through ICT

"The Euro-Mediterranean Join-Med project (2009-2011) provided the occasion to examine several projects to be achieved as part of partnership between the researchers of the two Mediterranean shores for the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in various sectors", said Mrs. Souad Ben Sassi, deputy-director in charge of International Co-operation in the National Information Technology Centre (CNI). She evoked, in this connection, the sectors of transport (transport-ICT), waters (waters-ICT) and environment (environment-ICT), reminding that the objective of the Join-Med project is to create a sustainable network of research on ICT between the researchers of the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean. The Tunisian projects will mainly focus on the communication networks to be developed, notably in the fields of health (health-ICT), and environment (environment-ICT) went on saying Mrs. Sassi, during a conference organised Monday in Tunis on the "the Role of Information Technologies in Social Changes and Economic Development in the Mediterranean Countries". Opening this two-day conference, Mr. Adel Gaaloul, Secretary of State in charge of Technology, underlined that this event is part of examining means allowing to develop in the two shores of the Mediterranean projects closely linked to ICT, in addition to the promotion of economic and social growth of the region. He underlined that post revolution Tunisia opens new prospects likely to develop co-operation between the two shores of the Mediterranean. The Join-Med project which started in February 2009 in Tunis, gathers eight partners from the Mediterranean including Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus. The conference agenda includes panels to turn on themes pertaining to the policy of dialogue in the Mediterranean regions and to ICT and social changes.