On 17 December 2018, the 2nd Coordination Committee for the cooperation of JINR with the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) of the League of Arab States was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The management of the organizations at the meeting was represented by Director General Salem Hamdi from the AAEA side and Vice-Director R. Lednický on behalf of JINR. The Committee took place on the sidelines of the 14th Arab Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy co-organized by AAEA and the Egyptian Atomic Energy Agency.

The parties discussed further steps for the cooperation enhancement and noted with satisfaction full implementation of the first protocol on the AAEA-JINR cooperation signed in April 2017 marking the beginning of joint work. The parties highlighted the training of young scientists of the AAEA Member States as the key field of cooperation development. Participants got acquainted with the AAEA strategy, which includes the Agency’s plans for the creation of the Arab-African Training Centre. Information presented about the capabilities of the JINR Virtual Laboratory was acknowledged by the parties as the field for further strengthening of cooperation. At the end of the discussion, participants noted that it is necessary to popularize JINR activities on the AAEA information platforms. Moreover, the parties suggested an idea to open the JINR Information Centre on the basis of the Agency’s headquarters in Tunis. The final protocol of the Committee includes the participation of a group of young scientists from the AAEA countries in the UC International Student Practice in September 2019 jointly with a traditional group of Egyptian students. It also includes the competitive selection of postdoctoral fellows to work at JINR.

At the closing ceremony of the 14th Arab Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, AAEA used its successful experience of cooperation with JINR as the basis for one of its seven final theses for the Member States. AAEA recommended the Joint Institute as a strategically important partner for cooperation.