On December 5, a ceremony was held at the NAS of Belarus to announce the official start of the implementation of joint Belarus-Cuba projects.

The event was attended by Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Belarus Santiago Perez Benitez. On the Belarusian side, the ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus Alexander Kilchevsky, Chief Scientific Secretary of the NAS of Belarus Vasily Gursky, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research (BRFFR), Director of the Executive Directorate of the BRFFR Alexey Daineko, Head of the Main Directorate of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vladimir Podkopaev, a leading specialist of the Main Department International Scientific and Technical cooperation of the Apparatus of the NAS of Belarus Luisa Belyaeva.

Alexander Kilchevsky, Academician, Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus, noted at the beginning of the event: "Today is a significant day. We are opening a series of contests with the Republic of Cuba. On November 29, 2022, we signed a Cooperation Agreement between the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba, which is the basis of our competition. As part of this agreement, a joint competition was announced in the 2nd quarter of 2023. The implementation was entrusted to the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research. As a result of the competitive selection, 18 projects were selected."

The Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Belarus Santiago Perez Benitez stressed at the ceremony: "Looking through the projects, we can talk about the high level of development of Belarus-Cuba cooperation in the scientific field. And this is thanks to the cooperation of our countries and our Presidents, who put the development of science at the forefront. We are developing cooperation in many areas. These are fundamental sciences that will have a concrete result, which is very important for the economies of our countries."

Within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba, signed on November 29, 2022 during the visit of the delegation of the NAS of Belarus to Cuba, an agreement was reached on the organization of a competition for joint Belarus-Cuba projects. As part of this agreement, a joint competition for fundamental research projects NASB (BRFFR) – MSTE–2023* was announced in the 2nd quarter of 2023. Based on the results of the state expertise and in coordination with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment of the Republic of Cuba, it was decided to allocate 18 grants for the implementation of joint projects (the list is attached). The established deadlines for the start and completion of projects are from December 2023 to December 2025.

The projects planned for implementation within the framework of the NASB (BRFFR) – MSTE–2023 competition have a high level of novelty, and the results obtained will solve important issues of science development in the following areas: materials science (production of materials with improved physical and mechanical properties, development of biodegradable lubricants and coatings with increased wear and corrosion resistance); biotechnology (research and development of nanovaccines, search for multi-purpose compounds for Alzheimer's disease treatment); economics (development of methodological approaches to identify unrealized export potential and assessment of economic benefits and risks of Belarus-Cuba cooperation and their testing, identification of an additional list of commodity items of interstate trade), etc.

NASB (BRFFR) - MSTE-2023* – National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research) – Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba.
The Press Service of the NAS of Belarus