India, Croatia pledge 1 mn euros for scientific research

Feb 4, 2007, 17:15 GMT

New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) India and Croatia have pledged a total of 1 million euros (Rs.57 million) for ramping up their scientific cooperation, it was announced here Sunday.

Both countries will equally contribute to a joint fund that has been created under a joint declaration signed during Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal's just concluded visit to Croatia, an official release said.

Sibal and his Croatian counterpart Dragan Primorac signed the declaration in Zagreb on the first day of the visit Friday to further the Programme of Cooperation in Science And Technology (2005-08) being implemented by India's department of science & technology and Croatia's ministry of science, education and sports.

The next meeting of the India-Croatia joint committee will be held within three months to develop modalities and identify projects to be funded in the areas of environment, oceanography, biotechnology, pharmacology, nanotechnology and shipbuilding, the release said.

India has also agreed to the participation of its scientists in peer reviews and evaluations of Croatian R&D projects and will provide a list of Indian experts and institutions for this.

The two countries also agreed to collaborate in the use of GIS (geographic information system) technologies, especially in applications in coastal areas, the release said.

During the visit, Sibal called on Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and Vice-Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. He visited the Bodarski Institute devoted to shipbuilding and the Ruder Buskovic Institute, Croatia's premier multi-disciplinary R&D facility.

He also addressed senior academicians of Zagreb University on 'Towards an Indian Knowledge Society: Prospects and Challenges'.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service