On 20 April 2017, a four-day visit to JINR of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) delegation headed by AAEA General Director Salem Hamdi was finished. The delegation also included Head of Scientific Affairs Directorate Daw Saad Mosbah Khalefa and Head of Scientific Documentation Department Nahla Abdelhamid Mustafa Mohamed Nasr. The visit was intended as a start of implementation of the provisions regarding the Memorandum of understanding between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, signed on 12 December 2016, during the 13th Arab Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy held in Tunisia.

The delegation got acquainted with the activities of JINR Laboratories and the JINR University Centre by taking part in the training programme “JINR Expertise for Member States and Partner Countries”, which started on 19 April.

At a concluding meeting on 20 April at the JINR Directorate, the delegation was welcomed by JINR Vice-Director R. Lednický, JINR Chief Scientific Secretary A.S. Sorin, Director of the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics V.D. Kekelidze, Director of the JINR University Centre S.Z. Pakuliak, Head of the JINR International Cooperation Department D.V. Kamanin, Head of the National Group of the Arab Republic of Egypt W. Ghed. The guests shared their impressions about the visit to the Laboratories of the Institute and proposed a number of steps for cooperation development for the period up to the end of 2018. The meeting was finished with the signing of the protocol №1 to the Memorandum of understanding.

AAEA General Director Salem Hamdi noted in his interview to the “Dubna: science, community, progress” newspaper that signing the first protocol is the first step indicating the start of the practical work, where one of the key aspects is the research work, which is now coming into sharp focus for the AAEA. The AAEA representatives expressed their interest in JINR’s participation in establishment of a training centre of the African Arab region, which was also reflected in the Protocol.

The foundation for creating collaborative relationship with the Arab Atomic Energy Agency was laid by the visit of the AAEA General Director Abdelmajid Mahjoub at the beginning of summer 2015.