The general topic of this 9th General Assembly of EADI is that of re-thinking the
relationship between Europe and the developing world in this turn of century. Within this general
theme, we have been asked in our session to look more specifically at scientific and technical
cooperation and at the new opportunities and challenges it faces in the new century. This paper
will analyze these issues in the context of scientific research and technical cooperation in the
agricultural and rural development sector, given the very clear importance this sector has, not
only as a production sector, but also as a sector that has to do with the multifunctional use of the
rural space and of land, and with the sustainable management of natural resources and of the
biodiversity that characterizes our world.