Azernews.Az

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones has arrived in Turkey. Her visit will last till April 10.

According to the report, on Thursday in Ankara, Assistant Secretary Jones and Professor Dr. Yücel Altunbasak, President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), will co-chair a high-level meeting to review science and technology cooperation between the United States and Turkey, the first such meeting since the United States and Turkey signed 2010 Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement.

Representatives from more than ten U.S. government agencies and research institutions will meet with their Turkish counterparts to discuss cooperation in such areas as biomedical research, innovative technologies in agriculture, educational technology, material sciences, sustainable engineering, energy research, and natural hazards.

Assistant Secretary Jones will also participate in a panel discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship with students and faculty of the Entrepreneurship Center at Bilkent University in Ankara. The panel will consist of young Turkish entrepreneurs who have been recognized for their accomplishments and mentored through the State Department's Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative and Building Opportunities Out of Science and Technology (BOOST) program.

From April 8-9 in Istanbul, Assistant Secretary Jones will lead the U.S. delegation to the Tenth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests. She will address the Ministerial Segment of the Forum, which will be opened by the Prime Minister of Turkey and attended by ministers from around the world. While attending the forum, she will participate in a roundtable on International Arrangement on Forests, Rio+20 outcomes, and the Post-2015 UN development agenda, engage in a dialogue with the Heads of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests member organizations and celebrate the launch of a new global forests monitoring partnership with the Indonesian Minister of Forestry and the World Resources Institute.