Meridians of cooperation

JINR - South Africa: meeting in Pretoria

On 30 March, the 17th session of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa was held in Pretoria.

The delegation of the Joint Institute took part in the meeting of the Joint Russian-South African Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation that was held within the framework of intergovernmental consultations. The final protocol of the Joint Committee confirmed the intention of JINR and its partners from South Africa on making joint efforts to improve the status of this country in the Institute.

The session of the Committee was chaired by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Aleksander Kozlov and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Naledi Pandor. The participants of the consultations highlighted the steady progressive development of cooperation in the field of science and technology within the framework of the multilateral format of the intergovernmental organization implemented by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

The final document of the meeting was the protocol stating that "both parties see good prospects and mutual benefit from participation in JINR projects in the field of fundamental and applied research, accelerator technology, strengthening of human resources and development of research infrastructure facilities". In addition, the significance of the potentials of the multilateral cooperation format within the framework of JINR for strengthening bilateral scientific and technological cooperation between Russia and South Africa was especially emphasized. The Co-Chairs of the Committee supported the common strategic goal of JINR and its South African partners to upgrade the status of South Africa in JINR to a full member that was also reflected in the protocol.

From left to right: International Cooperation Adviser to JINR Director Irek Suleymanov, representative of the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa Charles Mokonoto, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of South Africa Imran Patel, Head of the JINR International Cooperation Department Dmitry Kamanin

During the visit of the JINR delegation to South Africa on 27-31 March, meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology of South Africa and the National Research Foundation, as well as with partners at the University of Pretoria, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, iThemba LABS and others. The JINR delegation discussed the opportunities of expanding cooperation in a wide range of priority research areas of the Institute, including information technologies with acting and potential partners in South Africa. A researcher at the JINR Laboratory of Information Technologies Igor Pelevanyuk held a series of seminars at universities and scientific organizations in Pretoria and Cape Town. Meetings at the High Performance Computing Center of South Africa and the National Integrated Cyber Infrastructure System of South Africa suggest mutual interest in developing cooperation in the field of information technologies.

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