Havana - British academician Emily Morris stressed here the importance of consolidating a research network existing among UK and Cuban scientists to push ahead existing projects.

Morris, a PhD at the University College of London (UCL), shared a debate on 'Strengthening of scientific relations between the United Kingdom and Cuba' with Cuban PhD Ricardo Torres, from Havana University, at the residence of the British Ambassador in Havana, Antony Stokes.

She highlighted existing exchanges and agreements between the two countries, such as the ongoing teachers´ training and the well-known 34-year-old Chevening scholarship program.

Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organizations, that program offers awards to outstanding scholars with leadership potential from around the world to study for a master's degree in any subject at any UK university.

Morris said she fights hard to position Cuba in the UK scientific community as one of the prioritized countries in Latin American and Caribbean, due the potential of its researchers and academics.

During her talk, she stressed the main three questions to start any cooperation program with Cuba, such as capacities and areas of interest, coincidence between UK and Cuba, and the necessary steps to build joint projects.

For his part, Torres said that there is no competition among researchers, but complementation among them, active part of important-results projects because the UK counterpart know and understand Cuban needs and reality, and highlighted that Cuba is sensitive to give and not only to receive.

He referred to the importance of developing projects with the UK not only with Universities but also with any other scientific institution and made special reference to The Economist, the well-known magazine on world economy, which combines different points of view.

Both PhD. coincided in the excellent conditions to strength scientific relations between the two countries in order to have better results, and Torres invited everyone in the room to rethink what is needed to developed an international cooperation based on the realities and needs of the countries involved.

The Cuban specialist announced the visit of a UK delegation of senior academics and researchers to Cuba in 2018 or 2019 to learn more about topics, reality and needs as the basis for future joint projects between both countries.