The third Session of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on the ARE-JINR cooperation was held on 7-10 February 2012 in El Quseir, Egypt. On the JINR side a delegation was headed by the JINR Vice-Director Richard Lednický; Deputy Chief Scientific Secretary D.V.Kamanin, FLNP Deputy Director V.N. Shvetsov, and ICD Coordinator of the JINR-ARE cooperation E.V.Pryanichnikova participated in the session. On the Egyptian side the Committee was attended by the head of a delegation Professor Tarek Hussein from Cairo University, Professor Hussein El-Samman from University of Menofia, Professor Mohamed Ezzat Abd El-Azim, former President of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Professor Nasser Sweilam from Cairo University.

The JINR delegation attended the last session of the 10th International Conference of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, organized by EAEA on February 7, 2012. The conference was held in El Quseir on 4 – 8 February 2012. Conference participants heard a report by R. Lednický on the JINR activities and future projects. V.N. Shvetsov spoke in his report about the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, attainment of the designed capacity of the modernized reactor IBR-2M and the results, which were obtained in the framework of implementation of joint projects with Egyptian scientists.

Attention of the third session of the Joint Coordination Committee for ARE-JINR Cooperation was focused on the results of the first year of cooperation in joint research projects approved by the Committee at its first session in Cairo in December 2010. Both sides highly appreciated the attained results and agreed on assignment of funding for the projects in 2012. The Committee started two new projects in experimental nuclear physics and approved the subject area and budget of the upcoming 4th of Practice for Young Scientists from Egypt at JINR, which begins on May 13, 2012 in Dubna. Both sides expressed interest in attracting the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Egyptian Science and Technology Development Fund to financing of the cooperation.

In the framework of the Committee session the JINR delegation and EAEA representatives considered the possibility of concluding a new agreement on the EAEA-JINR cooperation, which meets the requirements of the present. They acknowledged that the tasks formulated in the Protocol on the Collaboration of 1993 completed and discussed a draft of a new Agreement and determined promising areas of joint research projects. In the protocol signed by R. Lednický and M.E. Abd El-Azim, the sides placed on record the intention to initiate formal procedure, which is necessary for concluding the new Agreement; and expressed confidence that the new Agreement, which will be contract based, will create an advantageous basis to implement major scientific and innovation projects for the benefit of both sides.

The next session of the Committee will be held in Dubna, the sides will agree on a date before June 1, 2012.