(ANSA) - BELGRADE, FEB 19 - The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) project, coordinated by Italy through the Ministry of Education, University, and Research, held its second biennial Symposium in Bucharest, which was attended by 150 stakeholders. The event in Romania marked a watershed moment in the partnership's seven-year journey, establishing the priorities for the next phase. The partnership, which is co-funded by the European Commission through Horizon Europe and focuses on research and innovation in the marine and maritime economy, brings together 75 organisations from 32 countries and regularly updates its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The first two joint calls for proposals co-financed 43 projects; 153 pre-proposals from the third call are being evaluated, and three joint calls are planned annually until 2028. The projects launched have already yielded tangible results, such as digital twin applications, multipurpose offshore platforms, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture solutions, and marine spatial planning tools, all of which help to reduce environmental risk and create new value chains for coastal communities. In his opening remarks at the Bucharest event, Minister Anna Maria Bernini's Scientific Advisor, Professor Fabio Fava, outlined a policy framework aimed at translating research findings into long-term operational solutions, promoting a connected, basin-sensitive, and administratively streamlined ocean policy in response to technological innovation, climate pressures, and geopolitical changes. (ANSA).