Addis Ababa, July 27, 2023 (FBC) – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Russian Federation have signed an agreement for the establishment and operation of a Joint Russian-Ethiopian Biological Research Centre, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) confirmed.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg by the Ethiopian Minister of Innovation and Technology, Belete Mola, and the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Valery Falkov, stated Ministry in a statement sent to Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
According to the Agreement, the Joint Russian-Ethiopian Biological Expedition, which has been operating for more than 35 years, is to be transformed into the biological research centre and become a permanent research institution.
Over the years since the establishment of the expedition, Russian and Ethiopian scientists have conducted numerous applied scientific studies. In particular, the list of known animals and fish inhabiting in Ethiopia has doubled.
The MInT Minister Belete Molla said that the current agreement will expand the extent of the research that Russian researchers have been conducting in the past and to have institutional ownership of the research so that Ethiopia can benefit from the sector.
It is expected that the activities of the new research institution will contribute to increasing research aimed at achieving practical goals of the Ethiopian economy development, especially in the field of agriculture.
The signing of the agreement was done after the experts and officials of the two countries held discussions and preliminary preparations for the agreement in the current year.