On April 15, the China-Tunisia Symposium on Marine Ecological Environment Observation and Prediction in the Mediterranean Sea, jointly organized by the SIO and the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies of Tunisia (INSTM), was held in Hangzhou, and both sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

The symposium was hosted by the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics and the China-Africa Marine Science and Blue Economy Cooperation Center, and supported by the China Science and Technology Exchange Center. Experts and scholars from multiple domestic universities and research institutions attended the event.

At the symposium, in-depth discussion and cooperation were conducted on key issues such as marine ecological environment observation in the Mediterranean Sea, marine numerical modeling, nearshore ecological disaster response and digital twin ocean systems. Three thematic units were set up, including Marine Environmental Forecasting, Mediterranean Ecological Monitoring, Marine Biotechnology and Applications. Both sides showcased the interim achievements of two international cooperation projects, MoNITOR (Mitigation of Natural Incidence Towards an Increased Oceanic Resilience) and DEEPCMED (Deep and Distant Sea Climate Response Observation in the Mediterranean Sea) under the framework of the United Nations “Decade of Ocean”, and highlighted the practical progress in data sharing, model interoperability and technological collaboration between China and Tunisia.

During the symposium, Director Fang Yinxia and Saloua Sadok, Director of the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies of Tunisia, signed a strategic cooperation agreement on behalf of both sides. The two sides will carry out concrete cooperation in areas such as marine ecology and biogeochemistry, marine observation and disaster prevention and mitigation, and marine resource development and protection by conducting cooperative research, joint observation, jointly holding seminars and training courses and other means.

This symposium not only enhanced exchanges and cooperation between the scientific research teams of both sides but also turned a new page for expanding marine science and technology collaboration between China and Africa, as well as between China and Arab countries. In the future, both sides will continue to deepen cooperation under the framework of the United Nations “Decade of Ocean” and expand multi-level and all-round exchange mechanisms in multiple fields.