The 9th Joint Coordination Committee on cooperation between the Republic of South Africa and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was held on 1 June 2011.

The RSA was represented at the meeting by Chief Director: Emerging Research Areas and Infrastructure Dr.Daniel Adams, Director of Department of infrastructure Mr.Charles Mokonoto, RSA-JINR Education Programme Coordinator Dr. Noel Jacobs and Head of Department of iThemba LABS (Gauteng) Dr. Simon Mullins. On the JINR side were JINR Vice-Director Professor R. Lednický, JINR Chief Scientific Secretary Professor N.A.Russakovich, Head of International Cooperation Department Doctor D.V.Kamanin, FLNP Deputy Director Doctor V.N. Shvetsov, Head of the Accelerator department of FLNR B.N.Gikal, Director of JINR University Center Professor S.Z.Pakulyak, Senior Researcher Doctor B.I.Kolesnikov, Liaison Officer of the JINR-RSA Collaboration A.Yu.Belova.

Actual issues of participation of the RSA in JINR which were formulated during the forum “RSA-JINR: 5 years together” held in February 2011 in Pretoria were discussed at the meeting. Special presentations were devoted to research in the fields of neutron physics and perspectives of their development, to establishment of the accelerator complex NUCLOTRON/NICA, and also to potentials of JINR in construction of modern cyclotrons for educational purpose in the RSA.

Further development of educational aspects of cooperation, training of young specialists from the RSA occupied a specific place in the discussion. A budget of the 5th practice for students from the RSA which will start on 4 September 2011 was approved. Participants of the Committee endorsed further broadening of subject area of cooperation; in particular, a joint project in the fields of radiobiology was started. Enhancement of coordination of cooperation was continued – the Committee voted that workgroup on theoretical and nuclear physics should be organized.

Participants of the meeting unanimously noted that endorsement and signing of decisions were operative and were conducted in an atmosphere of constructiveness and mutual understanding. The next regular RSA-JINR Joint Coordination Committee is planned to be held in November 2011.