Fiocruz hosts German Parliamentary commission

The Commission for Education, Research and Technological Assessment of the German Federal Parliament visited Fiocruz, last Saturday (7/15), to strengthen ties with the institution, reinforce existing partnerships and assess possibilities for new cooperation between the Foundation and institutions and the German government. The visit was part of an agenda of the Commission to Brazil from July 9th to 16th.

The German Parliamentary Commission visited Fiocruz (photo: Pamela Lang)

“Brazil is a long-standing political and trade partner of Germany and we realize that only together we can face the global challenges and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. That is why it is very important that we deepen this partnership. We offer, here, our commitment to strengthen and support, from a political and parliamentary point of view, the cooperation that has already been initiated, on a bilateral basis, which we also understand as a contribution to global cooperation”, said the chairman of the Commission, Kai Gehring. During the meeting, the vice president of Research and Biological Collections, Maria de Lourdes Aguiar, and Vinicius Cotta, representing the vice president of Education, Information and Communication at Fiocruz, presented a brief report on the Foundation's activities in the field of research, the lessons learned in the preparation for health emergencies and the existing cooperation with the European country.

One of the most discussed points at the meeting was the exchange of young researchers. According to data presented by Vinicius Cotta, there are still few Fiocruz researchers who choose to improve their studies at German universities and research institutions. The parliamentarians made themselves available to help understand the challenges in this area and to strengthen and expand the exchange of researchers between the two countries.

The following parliamentarians were present at the meeting: Kai Gehring (BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, Alliance 90/The Greens), chairman of the Commission for Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag), Holger Becker (SPD, Social-Democrat), Michael Müller (SPD, Social Democratic Party), Ingeborg Gräßle (CDU/CSU, Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union), Monika Grütters (CDU/CSU, Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union), Friedhelm Boginski (FDP, Liberal Democratic Party), Barbara Lenk (AfD, Alternative for Germany), Petra Sitte (DIE LINKE, The Left). Also participating were the German Minister-Counselor for Scientific Affairs, Christian Stertz, the Consul-General, Joachim Schemel, and the coordinator of Fiocruz's Biological Collections, Marcelo Pelagio.