ICGEB hosts visit coordinated by the Director of the Chinese Regional Research Centre, Dr. Yili Yang.

On 30 May 2023, a delegation headed by Wan Wenhua, Mayor of Taizhou Municipal People’s Government, Jiangzhou District, China, and high-level dignitaries from China Medical City, China’s hub of medical innovation and industrialisation, wherein the ICGEB Chinese Regional Research Centre is located, visited the Headquarters of the ICGEB in Trieste, Italy.

The delegation included Ding Zhiqiang, Director of the Management Committee of Taizhou Medical High Tech Zone and Director of Gaogang District, Liu Jiangming, Director of Taizhou Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Wei Jiegang, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Taizhou Municipal People’s Government. Taizhou is a municipality of approximately 5 million people.

Yili Yang, Director of the China Regional Centre of the ICGEB coordinated the visit, also hosting, Jiang Peng, Deputy Director of China Medical City, Ma Yangguang, Director of the Industrial and Technological Innovation Bureau of Taizhou Medical High Tech Zone (Gaogang District), and Liu Lichao, Chief of Investment and Promotion Center of China Medical City.

The ICGEB delegation comprised Lawrence Banks, ICGEB Director-General, Vittorio Venturi, Scientific Coordinator and Group Leader Bacteriology Laboratory, Alessandro Marcello, PhD Programme Coordinator and Group Leader Molecular Virology Laboratory, Natasa Skoko, Group Leader Biotechnology Development Unit, Maria Luisa Fichera, Chief, Legal and Administration, Marianna Maculan, Chief, External Relations, Elena Benedetti, Head, Fundraising, Technology Transfer and Innovation, and Suzanne Kerbavcic, Head of Communications, Public Information and Outreach. Raffaella Agosti, PA to the DG was also present.

The visit provided an opportunity to consolidate international collaborations within the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region of Italy, with the delegation also visiting the Area Science Park, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and The World Academy of Sciences TWAS, all based in Trieste.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the ICGEB and the China Regional Research Centre (RRC) to strengthen the scientific activities and enrich the existing framework for enhanced cooperation, to promote and provide development opportunities and economic conditions for seconded staff and joint meetings.

The ICGEB has more than 40 laboratories in Trieste, Italy, Cape Town, South Africa and New Delhi, India, and a network of 68 Member States in all Regions of the globe. Additional ICGEB RRCs are currently being established in Kenya, the Republic of Moldova and Turkey.

The China RRC promotes science, research and international cooperation with operations aligned to those of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ICGEB.