On 28 September 2012, in Minsk the Science Development Fond under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and Foundation for Fundamental Researches of the Republic of Belarus signed a cooperation agreement, which is aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries and conducting joint grant competitions.

The Science Development Fond announced the 1st Azerbaijan-Belarus joint international grant competition aimed at encouraging joint realization of research projects by teams consisting of Azerbaijani and Belarus scientists, stimulating international scientific cooperation activities and creating opportunities for solving existing scientific problems.

According to information provided to “ICTnews” online news service by the Science Development Fond, under the competition it is planned to carry out financing of international projects, involving implementation of fundamental research activities in such areas as physical, mathematical, humanitarian and social sciences. Financing will be implemented through providing the above-mentioned projects with AZN 10,000-100,000 grants. Additionally, within the competition perspective projects will be provided with small (AZN 10,000) and medium-size (AZN 10,000-100,000) grants that will be used for acquiring material and technical support (scientific tools, equipment, technical devices, etc.). A total volume of grants to be provided under the competition amounts to AZN 600,000. The Science Development Fond has placed on its website (http://sdf.gov.az/) detailed information about the competition’s terms and conditions.

The fund will also conduct seminars, during which applicants will be provided with necessary advises and recommendations with regard to the projects involved in the competition. Let’s note that the issue of holding joint international grant competitions was included in the minutes of the 7th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Belarus Intergovernmental Commission held in 2012. “The international agreement signed between the two funds and the 1st Azerbaijan-Belarus joint international grant competition will give a positive impetus to the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus.”