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Boosting research collaboration in Arab countries: new Research and Education Network officially registered

27-06-2011

Following its successful launch in 2010 at the League of Arab States Headquarters, the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) has been officially registered in Dusseldorf, Germany as a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to implement, manage and extend sustainable Pan-Arab e-Infrastructures dedicated to Research and Education, connecting National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in the Arab countries. 
 
A press release said the initial shareholders of the Network are Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. Consulting GmbH, the Jordanian Universities Network, and the Moroccan Research and Education Network (CNRST). Other National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) are expected to become shareholders in the coming months.
 
ASREN is building on the EU-funded EUMEDCONNECT2 research and education network, which already provides connectivity in the Mediterranean region for innovative collaborations, including high-energy physics, earthquake analysis and agricultural research.  The objective of ASREN is to further boost scientific research and cooperation in member countries through the provision of world-class e-infrastructures and e-services.  
 
“In an era of knowledge economy, the availability of widespread, reliable and fast ICT-based infrastructures for research and education should be regarded as a key to economic development. Hence, we consider them an important priority for building the future of the Arab world. Arab countries have the skills, opportunity and political willingness to become a key player in this field and collaborate on a peer-basis with the rest of the world. As a result, ASREN came into existence,” said Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Honorary President of ASREN.
 
“In a world where borders are becoming increasingly undefined, and collaboration is becoming more important than competition, we believe that this widening of our present collaboration through ASREN e-Infrastructure is for everyone’s benefit and that overlooking this would be losing an opportunity to bring the Arab world closer. The joint work on developing ASREN with the League of Arab States, Arab NRENs, and the European Union has contributed largely to the formation of ASREN legal structure, operations, and implementation,” said Senator Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of ASREN.
 
Building on EUMEDCONNECT2, the high-capacity Internet network for research and education in the Mediterranean co-funded by the European Commission, ASREN sets out to widen its geographical footprint by connecting other Arab national research and education networks (NRENs) in addition to the current seven EUMEDCONNECT2 member countries: Algeria,  Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.
 
EUMEDCONNECT was launched in 2004 under the European Commission’s EUMEDIS Programme, which aimed to develop an inclusive Information Society in the region, creating the first regional data-communications network for the Mediterranean.
 
Building on the achievements of EUMEDIS, a new ‘Regional Programme to support the development of the Information Society in the Mediterranean Region’ (EUMEDRegNet) aims to support and further improve cooperation between Europe and the Mediterranean Partner Countries on Information Society issues. (ENPI Info Centre)
 
Read more
 
Press release
 
Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) website
 
EUMEDCONNECT2 website
 
EUMEDRegNet – fiche and news     
 
ENPI Info Centre feature - A research and education network to tackle the oldest affliction
 
ENPI Info Centre - New network aims to spread ‘real world’ benefits through e-connections for research


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