On Thursday, 21 March, the JINR International Conference Centre hosted a meeting of the JINR Finance Committee (FC) preceding the session of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries (CP). The FC members heard the report on the results of the Institute’s activities, the implementation of the JINR budget for 2023, and the draft of the revised Institute’s budget for the current year. The participants of the meeting considered the changes in the Rules of the JINR FC and CP procedures and discussed information on the preparation of the List of JINR Officials. Andrey Omelchuk, the Russian representative at the Finance Committee, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, chaired the meeting

JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov opened the event with a report on the scientific achievements of the Institute, the implementation of the current Seven-Year Plan for the Development of JINR, international scientific and technological cooperation at the Institute, and the efforts of the Member States to advance JINR projects.

“In general, the budget of the Seven-Year Plan has been implemented successfully. Almost 96% of the planned budget expenditure have been effectively allocated. The funds have been invested in the development of research infrastructure and the human resource capacity building, and directed to the operating expenses of the Institute. The budget expenditure for the flagship projects amounted to 97%”, the JINR Director assessed the financial results of the finished seven-year period.

The manufacturing and cryogenic testing of components of the collider’s magnetic system at the NICA Accelerator Complex are in the final stage. Power supply systems for the structural elements of the collider and a new cryogenic compressor station are being prepared for the commissioning. On 1 March 2023, the responsibilities of the general contractor for the construction of the NICA Collider and partial reconstruction of the Synchrophasotron building were handed over from STRABAG SE to TES LLC. The production of components for the first stage of the MPD Detector installation is proceeding with insignificant delays. The International Expert Committee started reviewing the updated technical design of the SPD Detector. The ARIADNA Collaboration for applied research is developing. In addition to SOChI, two more stations, SIMBA and ISCRA, have been constructed.

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As the JINR Director highlighted, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia provided the scientific teams participating in megascience projects with active support. The high publication activity of the Institute’s employees has been noted as well.

The 2024 expedition to Lake Baikal to build the Baikal-GVD Neutrino Telescope has successfully started. At the end of the expedition, the total number of installed modules will reach 4000. FLNR specialists are working on the upgrade of the U-400M Cyclotron at the DRIBs-III Accelerator Complex. The DC-140 Accelerator is being built. A new experimental hall for the U-400R Accelerator is now under construction. At FLNP, employees are preparing the IBR-2 Reactor for regular operation and modernising the spectrometer complex, including three new facilities.

The development of the JINR Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex, including an increase in the power of the Govorun Supercomputer and a significant restructuring of the distributed DIRAC Platform to support the MPD, BM@N and SPD Experiments, as well as research at the Baikal-GVD Neutrino Telescope, is being effectively carried out.

Grigory Trubnikov also emphasised that multidisciplinarity and a wide range of scientific research, coordinated work of all laboratories and departments allowed the Institute to demonstrate high performance.

The JINR Director noted a number of highlights in international cooperation. Among the recent events are the visit of a delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil, the conclusion of an agreement to expand cooperation with Yerevan Physics Institute (Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory), and the visit of the iThemba LABS Director (South Africa). In late February, a JINR scientific school took place in Cuba. The JINR Information Centre was opened in the Arab Atomic Agency in Tunisia. Meetings of the JINR Coordination Committees with Serbia and Mexico were organized. The second meeting of the JINR-China Expert Working Group took place recently.

The JINR University Centre have been working efficiently. “In terms of the number of students, young specialists, and scientists involved in various educational programmes at the Institute, we have returned to the indicators of the pre-covid period. The Institute continues to train highly qualified personnel,” Grigory Trubnikov summarised.

Head of the Budget and Economic Policy Department Nikolay Kalinin made a report on the JINR budget implementation in 2023 and the draft of the revised 2024 JINR budget. Following his report, the Finance Committee recommended the Committee of Plenipotentiaries to take note of the information on the implementation of the 2023 JINR budget and to approve the final adjustments of the JINR budget expenditure for 2023 and the revised 2024 JINR budget.

JINR Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov presented information on the selection of an organization to audit the financial activities of JINR for 2023. The Korsakov and Partners LLC became the JINR auditor for 2023.

Yerzhan Mukhamejanov, Chairman of the Working Group for JINR Financial Issues under the CP Chair, reported on the results of the meeting of the Working Group in Hanoi on 15 January 2024. The FC recommended the JINR CP to commission the JINR Directorate and the Working Group for JINR Financial Issues under the CP Chair to develop an approach for determining the annual contributions of the Member States, taking into account the annual increase in the JINR budget by 5% during the Seven-Year Plan for the Development of JINR for 2024–2030, and to submit their proposals for consideration at the November sessions of the JINR Governing Bodies.

Anton Kharevich, Head of the JINR Legal Department, announced proposals concerning amendments to the Rules of the JINR Finance Committee Procedure in his report. The proposals are to be finally considered at the JINR CP session on 22 March. Next, Anton Kharevich presented the draft List of JINR Officials. The Finance Committee recommended the CP to pre-approve the list, for which purpose the JINR Directorate should send its draft to each Plenipotentiary of the Governments of the JINR Member States. The relevant bodies and departments of the JINR Member States will further elaborate the issue of approval of the List of JINR Officials.

The Finance Committee meeting was concluded by report of Director of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics Dmitry Kazakov entitled “Waiting for New Physics”.

The next meeting of the JINR Finance Committee will take place in November 2024.

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