Songon, Sept. 3, 2025 (AIP) – On Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, the “Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques” (CSRS) in Côte d’Ivoire and the “Centre National de Recherche Scientifique” (CNRS) in France signed a framework partnership agreement to combine their scientific rigor and shared vision.

“The cooperation between the CSRS and the CNRS is a response to preserve biodiversity in Côte d'Ivoire, which is subject to increasing human pressures (...) The signing of this agreement is a founding act of our shared commitment,” said CSRS Director General Prof. Inza Koné.

He took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the CNRS for the trust placed in the CSRS and its partners, while praising the vision of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Adama Diawara, and the importance that the Ivorian government attaches to this strategic partnership.

The CEO of the CNRS, Antoine Petit, welcomed this partnership, which embodies academic excellence, a commitment to conservation, and a desire to build a sustainable future for humanity and its biodiversity.

The ceremony was presided over by the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Arsène Kobéa.

The CSRS in Côte d'Ivoire is under the dual supervision of the two ministries responsible for scientific research in Côte d'Ivoire, which are co-signatories to a scientific cooperation agreement between the two countries. In Switzerland, supervision is provided by the “Leading House” designated by the State Secretary for Research and Education (SER), in this case the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, whose director is Prof. Juerg Utzinger. In Côte d'Ivoire, supervision is provided by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

With more than 80 years of fundamental research, exploration of life, space, matter, and human societies, France's CNRS mobilizes all sciences to understand the challenges of the contemporary world in all their complexity, in collaboration with organizations in the field.  According to the Scimago Institutions Rankings, the CNRS ranks third worldwide and first in Europe as a research center.

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