GERMANY TO INVEST 40 MILLION EUROS A YEAR IN COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Germany will be annually investing 40 million euros to finance its co-operation projects with Russia in the field of science and education, Germany's federal minister of education and research Edelgard Bulmahn said this Monday following his negotiations with Russia's education and science minister Andrei Fursenko. According to Fursenko, the development of higher engineering education will be a key sector of co-operation. In 2005, the working group to include the rectors of the leading technical universities of Germany and Russia will hold its meeting. "Now it is important to improve the maintenance of engineering sciences throughout the world and Russia has enormous potential in this field," Bulmahn stressed. Fursenko noted that engineering was the sphere where Russia was absolutely competitive. At the negotiations with the German minister, the parties reached agreement on co-operation in the field of space research, the struggle against cancer, information technology, marine and polar research within the framework of International Polar Year in 2007.