The first program is meant to support research and development in priority areas for both countries, while the second provides for the creation of laboratories for joint research between Moroccan and Tunisian researchers, said Tuesday the ministry of National Education in a statement.

Both programs aim to support research and innovation projects to address the socio-economic and technological challenges facing both countries, focusing on areas related to health, renewable energy and energy efficiency, artificial intelligence, water, environment and climate change, in addition to the humanities and social sciences.

These programs, for which a budget of 10 million dirhams has been allocated by each country, will also fund the mobility of researchers, encourage the completion of doctoral theses in the framework of a cotutelle between Moroccan and Tunisian universities and provide logistical support to research structures, said the statement.

In this regard, the ministry received 168 joint projects from which 30 were selected. These projects are divided between the fields of water, environment and climate change (53%), health (20%), renewable energy and energy efficiency (10%), applications of artificial intelligence and Big data (10%) as well as humanities and social sciences (7%).