The delegations from Member States attending the meeting included six Ministers and six Deputy Ministers and/or High Officials, as well as a Representative of the European Commission (Directorate General for Research and Innovation) and other guests. At the inaugural session, delegates were welcomed by Minister Žarko ObradoviÊ in his capacity as Chairman, by CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter, who also sent regards from the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Renzo Tondo.
The meeting aimed at promoting research and development in Central and Eastern European countries by  strengthening the links between investments in research infrastructures and development of common research and innovation policies connected to the European Union Framework Programme.
Special focus was devoted to the opportunities for synergies among the scientific communities in CEI countries and the Elettra (Synchrotron Radiation) and Fermi (Free Electron Laser) Laboratories in Trieste, Italy.
As part of the CEI mission – Regional Cooperation for European Integration – collaboration in the field of science is one of the priorities of the organisation. Through various projects and activities, the CEI promotes and facilitates research collaboration between research communities of its Member States, in particular by orientating the  institutions cooperating in the framework of the CEI Science and Technology Network, focusing primarily on the mobility of researchers.
The Ministerial Meeting also focused on next-generation biofuels, which represents a priority for any long-term strategy in the field of renewable and environmentally-friendly energy sources. In this context, the CEI Secretariat introduced a proposal for an integrated and interdisciplinary regional research project in the strategic field of next-generation biofuels.
The Ministers and other Heads of Delegation of the Member States of the Central European Initiative adopted “The Trieste Declaration”. In this context, they referred in particular to the proposed “Horizon 2020” EU Research and Innovation Programme, stressing the need that investments in Research Infrastructures should be developed and planned on all available financial instruments.