Cyprus's Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology, Demetris Skourides, met Australian High Commissioner to Cyprus Emily Pugin in Nicosia this week to discuss deeper cooperation in artificial intelligence and research, according to Cyprus Mail.
Building on a 2025 mission
The talks covered AI ethics and technology transfer, Cyprus's National AI Strategy 2032, and ways to strengthen links between the two countries' research communities, universities and innovation ecosystems, as well as climate resilience, wildfire prevention and emergency-response technology, Cyprus Mail reported. They follow a mission Skourides made to Australia in September 2025, when he met Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Tony Haymet, and discussed climate change, ocean science, robotics and AI, along with agritech, health and medical-technology cooperation and Australian fire-prevention and drone policy.
"International partnerships and the exchange of expertise will be essential to ensuring that emerging technologies translate into practical benefits for our economies and societies," Skourides said, according to Cyprus Mail.
Australia's route into Horizon Europe
The reference is to Australia's association with Horizon Europe, the EU's €93.5 billion research and innovation programme. The European Commission and Australia concluded association negotiations on 9 June 2026, according to the European Commission. Australia will associate to Pillar II of the programme, which covers digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; and food, bioeconomy and agriculture, with Australian entities gaining direct access to EU funding as an associated country from January 2027. Australian organisations have already taken part in 239 Horizon Europe projects, with a 24.39 per cent success rate for individual applications, the Commission said, and Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said that "the future of science and technology depends on strong international partnerships, like the one between the EU and Australia." Under the transitional arrangement described by the Commission, Australian entities move from third-country status to being treated as "eligible entities" of an associated country, putting them on equal footing with organisations based in EU member states, including the ability to lead project consortia rather than only join them.
Why it matters for Cyprus
For Cyprus, Australia's new status offers an additional channel for joint funding proposals once Australian entities are no longer bound by third-country rules. Skourides framed the discussions within Cyprus's National AI Strategy 2032, which sets out how the island intends to use international partnerships in AI, research and innovation.
Australia's formal participation under Horizon Europe's 2027 work programme begins on 1 January 2027, meaning any concrete Cyprus-Australia projects stemming from this week's talks would likely take shape from that date, once funding calls open to joint Cypriot-Australian consortia. Neither Skourides' office nor the Australian High Commission has so far named specific joint projects arising from the Nicosia meeting.