A special webinar was organized on 16 December 2021 to present JINR current activities and projects to an extended audience of the Mexican scientific community, as well as to discuss opportunities for further enhancement of joint Mexico-JINR research activities.

The JINR team was headed by Prof. Vladimir Kekelidze, Prof. Latchesar Kostov, vice-directors and Prof. Adam Kisiel, the VBLHEP JINR Deputy Director. Over 30 representatives of Mexican research centres and universities as well as officials from the Mexican Science Funding Agency (CONACyT) and the Mexican Embassy in the Russian Federation participated in the event. The webinar was chaired by Prof. Alejandro Ayala from the Institute for Nuclear Sciences of the National University of Mexico, who is also the MPD IB chair and main liaison officer in Mexico to promote cooperation between Mexico and JINR.

The webinar programme featured two reports – an overview of JINR activities presented by Prof. Dmitry Kamanin, Director of Department of International Cooperation, and a dedicated talk on the NICA collider project – a JINR flagship project, presented by JINR vice-director Prof. Vladimir Kekelidze. In the discussion that followed the presentations, Mexican researchers confirmed their interest to boost ongoing joint research activities, to explore possibilities to extend the subject scope of joint research and augment in general the Mexican involvement in JINR activities. International programmes for students, implemented by JINR, proved to be a topic of special interest with the Mexican colleagues, who were keen to receive details on the terms and conditions for participation.

In conclusion, proposals for further development of cooperation were considered, including the organization of a joint committee for coordination of cooperation, visit exchanges, participation of Mexican delegates in JEMS training courses, etc. The president of the Mexican Physical Society Prof. Ana Maria Cetto, was invited to take part in the upcoming session of the JINR Scientific Council, scheduled to take place on 24-25 February 2022.