On 22 November, at the visiting session of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the JINR Member States in Bansko, Members of the Committee unanimously decided to raise the status of the Arab Republic of Egypt in JINR up to a full-fledged JINR Member State.

According to the Charter of the Joint Institute, participants of the CP session considered the application of the Arab Republic of Egypt on its wish to become a JINR Member State signed by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt Khaled Abdel Gafaar. Within the subsequent vote, all the JINR Member States unconditionally supported the proposal to make Egypt a JINR Member State.

According to the general opinion expressed by Plenipotentiary Representatives, the accession of Egypt to the JINR Member States will significantly contribute to the development of the Institute, will allow expanding its scientific programme and launching new interesting and ambitious projects.

“Today, all of us have witnessed a historical event: for the first time since the 1990s, a new Member State – the Arab Republic of Egypt – has officially joined the Institute,” JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov noted commenting on the expansion of the membership of the Institute. “This event has taken place with the full consensus and absolute support from all the JINR Member States. In fact, a long-standing, close, active, and energetic cooperation with ARE has been formalised. Egypt is a country with great technological and intellectual potential. It not only develops applied research but also highly appreciates and supports fundamental science. Today’s event opens up new horizons for JINR and its international scientific programme. This is undoubtedly a mutually beneficial process for Egypt, JINR, and all the Institute’s Member States. According to the Plenipotentiaries, the latter ones are waiting for the additional impetus for the development of national science.”

President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technologies of Egypt Mahmoud Sakr expressed gratitude to the Committee of Plenipotentiaries of JINR and the Institute’s Directorate for the support provided. He also highlighted that ARE lays great hopes on cooperation with JINR and alignment with the scientific agenda of all the Member States.

“We consider JINR not only as one of the leading scientific organizations in the fields of nuclear physics, particle physics, and accelerator technologies but also as an international platform accumulating scientific potential of now 19 Member States and 5 Associate Members.

By becoming a JINR Member State, Egypt becomes a member of the large international family. We hope that our participation will be also enriching for the Institute. As a guide to the scientific communities in the countries of North African, Middle Eastern, and Arab regions, Egypt will contribute to establishing partner contacts with JINR,” Mahmoud Sakr noted.

On the Egyptian side, Director General of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) Salem Hamdi, Vice-President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology Gina El-Feky, Head of the national group of Egypt in JINR Wael Badawy also took part in the CP Session.

It should be noted that accession of ARE as a JINR Member State is a result of dedicated and mutual efforts, undertaken on the part of the Egyptian research community and JINR during a long period of time.