Plans mooted for closer research cooperation with Russia
Switzerland and Russia have signed a declaration of intent to boost cooperation in research and technology.
The declaration sets the basis for joint projects to be launched next year, according to a statement on Monday by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and InnovationExternal link. The details of the joint tenders are still to be defined.
The key partners are the Swiss National Science FoundationExternal link (SNF) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
A delegation from the State Secretariat, the SNF and the University of Geneva held talks in Moscow with members of the Russian research community and innovation agencies as well as representatives from Russian universities.
The aim of the fourth meeting of the joint working group set up in 2012, was to identify bilateral as well as international tools and programmes to increase cooperation between the two countries, according to the state secretariat.
The SNF has supported more than 200 projects with Russian participation and Russia is among the top 17 international partner countries for research. Over the past two years the University of Geneva launched and funded 15 projects.
More than 250 Russian researchers have been granted special scholarshipsExternal link by the Swiss authorities since 1994.
More
Science diplomacy as an innovative tool in our international relations
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.