TRSC and Eritrea set up a scientific collaboration

Eritrea joins the list of Red Sea countries subscribing to the TRSC's initiative to promote a regional approach to the conservation of Red Sea corals, nicknamed the "reefs of hope" because of their resistance to climate change.

In July 2024, the Ministry of Marine Resources of Eritrea and TRSC at EPFL, the academic institution hosting the Center in Lausanne, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a scientific collaboration between the Eritrean research community and the TRSC on the specific subject of coral reefs.

This signature brings to 4 the number of MoUs signed with scientific or institutional players in Red Sea countries, namely (in chronological order) Sudan (Red Sea University in Port Sudan, 2021), Jordan (Marine Science Station at the University of Jordan in #Aqaba, 2022) and Djibouti (Université de Djibouti, 2022).

In addition to these MoUs, since 2020 the TRSC has also established a scientific collaboration with Israeli researchers. In total, the TRSC has therefore established scientific collaboration with 5 out of the 8 Red Sea countries since its creation in 2019. And even 6, if we consider the participation of two Yemeni researchers in a 3D mapping training workshop organised in Djibouti in 2023.

This significant development, one year after the opening of a dialogue between the TRSC and the Eritrean authorities, was facilitated by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It follows the official visit of a TRSC delegation to Asmara and Massawa in February 2024 (picture), accompanied by the Swiss Ambassador to Eritrea, Patrick Egloff.

The formalization of this scientific collaboration paves the way for the implementation of bilateral research programmes and training activities, as part of the regional and transnational dynamic developed by the TRSC, which aims to encourage direct exchanges between Red Sea stakeholders.