How a bold alliance turns shared challenges into shared solutions
What happens when two shores decide to think together? This week, the Canary Islands and Morocco launched their first-ever joint call for research and innovation, opening a new chapter in transcontinental cooperation. Backed by the Government of the Canary Islands and University Mohammed VI Polytechnic, the initiative promises to fund pioneering projects in water, energy, health, and food systems—real issues, shared priorities.
But behind this announcement lies a bigger ambition: to transform science into diplomacy. With a formal agreement signed by the presidents of UM6P, La Laguna, and Las Palmas universities, the two regions are laying down the foundations of a long-term scientific alliance—one designed not just to finance, but to connect, exchange, and innovate.
The momentum is already here. After the Africa Canarias Challenge brought together 50+ researchers across Africa, a new wave of collaboration is taking shape: student internships, academic exchanges, and even shared astronomy research. From labs to telescopes, the distance between Morocco and the Canary Islands is shrinking—one discovery at a time.
As UM6P’s president Hicham El Habti summed it up:
This is diplomacy through science.
And perhaps, in a world facing common challenges, there’s no better diplomacy than one that starts with a question—and seeks the answer together.
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