Over the past decade, the Central- Eastern European Member countries have witnessed unprecedented growth in the agri-food, aquaculture, forestry sectors, environment and rural areas resulting to cohesion of the European Union (EU) attributable to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Resources. To ensure sustained growth and a cohesive region, the member states saw there was a need to shift the emphasis to research, innovation and transnational cooperation for knowledge-based development. The shift resulted to the birth of Central-Eastern European Initiative for Knowledge-based Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in the Bioeconomy (BIOEAST). An initiative that could offer shared strategic research and innovation framework for working towards sustainable bioeconomies in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Owing to the global challenges, sustainability is only achievable at the macro-regional level. To build sustainable national bioeconomies, the specific challenges arising from climate change in the Continental Biogeographical Region, and the common societal and governance issues of the CEE countries should be taken into consideration. The research and innovation capacities of the macro-region are facing significant internal disparities in terms of effectively joining the European Research Area and this is a challenge to be tackled. A macro-regional perspective, along with more vigorous European Union (EU) wide cooperation, is necessary for implementing in an effective and efficient way tailored actions that are conducive to safe, secure and sustainable development for all. The sustainability criteria for a circular economy add an additional challenging feature in the region. BIOEAST was established and built to address these challenges in a sustainable way. To achieve its vision and mission, BIOEAST outlined seven overarching principles. The achievement of these objectives would bridge the above-mentioned gaps in the CEE macro-region and could serve as the thematic framework of a Coordination Support Action (CSA)