US Ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin visited the Marine Institute’s national headquarters in Galway last Friday (8 April) to celebrated the strong ties in marine science and technology that exist between the two nations.
The visit provided an opportunity for Ambassador Cronin to tour the institute’s state-of-the-art facilities and gain insights into its scientific programmes and capabilities, including research vessel operations, ocean observation and seabed mapping, marine ecosystem monitoring, climate science and scientific services supporting development of a sustainable ocean economy.
In welcoming Ambassador Cronin, the Marine Institute’s director of policy, innovation and research services, Dr Niall McDonough emphasised the institute’s commitment to fostering international cooperation and knowledge exchange, to not only advance marine research and innovation goals but to address global marine challenges.
“As two nations with seaboards on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland and the US share a deep commitment to exploring new frontiers of ocean science and sustainability,” Dr McDonough said.
“The connections between us have deepened substantially since the signing of the Galway Statement to establish the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance in 2013. We now work together as part of a growing family of Atlantic nations that seek common solutions through scientific collaboration to harness the vast potential of the Atlantic Ocean whilst safeguarding it for future generations.”
Dr McDonough is also at the forefront of Okeano, a new cross-national support group for Atlantic Ocean research and innovation, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.