RSS had been at the forefront of Eastern Mediterranean R & D institutions in cooperation with EU partners in Framework Programmes 4 & 5. It has successfully completed all projects it had embarked upon with EU partners, and is currently working on a number of FP5 projects. It is looking forward to promoting and enhancing this cooperation still further in FP6 by offering unparalleled local expertise and upgrading its technical and scientific know-how, to become even more valuable as a partner for European institutions and companies. With connections to other regional institutions, RSS is verily a regional hub of cooperation with the European Union countries in the Mediterranean region.