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In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of Pakistan and the United States Department of State signed a comprehensive Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement that established a framework to increase cooperation in science, technology, engineering, and education for mutual benefit and peaceful purposes between the science and education communities in both countries. Each country has contributed funds to support Cooperation Program projects under this Agreement that would enhance the ability of the science and technology community to positively contribute to human and economic development in Pakistan. This program, which is being implemented by the US National Academy of Sciences on the US side, is intended to increase the strength and breadth of cooperation and linkages between Pakistani scientists and institutions with counterparts in the United States. Learn more... Since 1990, the National Academies have been engaged in a program of workshops, exchange visits, and scientific consultations with the Iranian Academy of Sciences, the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences, and other institutions in Iran. A report describing these activities is scheduled for publication in 2010.
In 1994, the Association of Middle East and U.S. National Academies of Sciences was founded in Washington, DC. Its members, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology, the Higher Council for Science and Technology of Jordan, and the U.S. National Academies, produce joint, balanced, unbiased, and high-quality reports that advise high-level policy makers and government officials on the application of the best science to solving problems. Learn more...
The East European program of the National Academies dates back to 1967. Initially the program emphasized exchanges of individuals from U.S. institutions and institutions of seven countries of the region. During the 1980s and 1990s, the program expanded to include workshops. The program was terminated in the early 2000s. Currently, there are occasional bilateral and regional workshops organized on an ad hoc basis depending on the availability of funding. A report on the history of the program through early 2009 will be published by the National Academies Press in the fall of 2009.
The National Academies analyze the possible contributions to progress in achieving peace in the Middle East of significantly expanded scientific cooperation between the governments and institutions of the United States and of Israel and/or Palestine. The emphasis will be on cooperation in increasing access to water, expanding health services, strengthening linkages among universities, and providing new employment opportunities.
The institutions of the National Academies have carried out a program of scientific cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences for 50 years. Dozens of reports of cooperative activities during the past two decade are currently available from the National Academies Press. In June 2009, a Jubilee in Moscow celebrated the successes of the past and considered opportunities for future cooperation. A report of the Jubilee is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. Current plans for the program included cooperation in biomedicine, disposal of radioactive waste, regional adaptations of climate change, agrobiotechnology, and counterterrorism.
In 2008 and in 2009, the National Academies Press published reports on the future of the Biological Threat Reduction Program of the Department of Defense that were called for by the U.S. Congress. Additional contributions by the National Academies to this program were being considered as of September 2009. The Board on Science and Technology in International Development (BOSTID) was created in recognition of the importance of science and technology in contributing to solutions of social and economic development problems. Funded by USAID, BOSTID put particular emphasis on collaboration and relationship-building, comprehensiveness, and continuity in its activities. Its activities focused on local priorities and perceptions of needs, complemented by relevant experience from the United States and elsewhere. Learn more... |
