The 6th Meeting of the Brazil-USA Mixed Commission on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2020th Committee), provided for in the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Brasília, on March 5, 5. 1984, whose last meeting was held in May 2015.
During the 5th Comista, the two countries adopted a Science and Technology Work Plan for the period from 2020 to 2023, which establishes the common priorities described above. Cooperation agreements were also signed in the area of scientific cooperation in High Energy Particle Physics between Fermilab (Scientific Research Laboratory of the US Department of Energy) and FAPESP and another agreement in the same area between Fermilab and Unicamp.
With the agreement signed, the University expands its scientific and technological collaboration with Fermilab beyond its prominent participation in Neutrino Physics. "IFGW will collaborate on R&D activities, in the initial phase and, possibly, design and engineering, in the final phase, of the Argon Cryogenics infrastructure of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LNBF), which will support the DUNE experiment", it states the director of the "Gleb Wataghin" Institute of Physics, professor Pascoal José Giglio Pagliuso.
The Brazilian delegation that participated in the 5th Comista was led by the Minister of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC), Marcos Pontes, and the North American delegation by the Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from the USA, Walter Copan. Representatives from more than 30 Brazilian and American institutions and agencies participated in the 5th Comista. Meetings were held between representatives of the two countries, in which topics ranging from Earth observation and education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to advanced manufacturing and research in particle physics were discussed.
Brazil and the USA, the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, have solid political, economic and fraternal relations between the two peoples. The bilateral partnership in science, technology and innovation has deep and consolidated roots in common values and principles, which include freedom of scientific research, competition based on meritocracy, transparency, responsibility and reciprocity. This partnership aims to protect intellectual property, guarantee an inclusive environment in the research area, promote scientific research based on criteria of precision, integrity and safety, and reduce bureaucracy. Both countries aim to face common challenges, generate favorable social impacts through research and promote advances in science, technology and innovation that effectively benefit our populations.
Brazil and the USA committed to strengthening bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation, especially in the areas of health research and development, including cooperation in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19); advanced manufacturing; hydrological monitoring; oceanography; education with an emphasis on STEM; open science; monitoring and reducing risks from natural disasters; metrology; and particle physics. Brazil and the USA already have extensive programs in the scientific area. Together, our countries will strengthen partnerships between the private sector and research and development centers, develop new models of cooperation between research funding agencies and support joint research projects.
Both countries welcomed the entry into force of the Technological Safeguards Agreement (AST), signed between Brazil and the USA during President Jair Bolsonaro's visit to Washington, in March 2019. The AST is a historic milestone in space cooperation between Brazil and the USA, by allowing the launch of satellites and space launch vehicles of North American origin from Brazil. AST will create new and broad commercial opportunities for Brazil and the US in the area of advanced space technology, including satellites. Both countries also agreed to deepen, through appropriate mechanisms, cooperation in the space sector, including activities related to space science.
Read article in full on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
Read published article on the Unicamp Portal about Fermilab's cooperation agreement.
