The Federal Council approved the message Education, Research and Innovation ERI 2008-2011 on January 24th, 2007. Bilateral science and technology cooperation programme with priority countries has received for this time period a total budget of CHF 43 million dedicated to R&D. Of this amount, CHF 6.850 million are dedicated to bilateral scientific and technological cooperation with Russia.
In February 2007, the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER), designated the University of Geneva as the Leading House (LH) and the EPFL as the Associated Leading House (ALH) for the implementation of the bilateral science and technology cooperation programme with Russia.
The State Secretariat, acting on behalf of the Federal Council, is currently conducting negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to finalise a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the fields of science and technology. To date, several consultations have taken place between the contracting parties. The last draft defines the objectives and instruments of cooperation as well as priority cooperation fields. It foresees the creation of a Russian-Swiss Joint Working Group responsible for the implementation of the cooperation strategy at the governmental level. The bilateral Agreement is expected to be signed in the coming months.
