RIKEN has been collaborating with research organizations in thirty one countries to increase its research capabilities. It has laboratories at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom, and at both the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Recently it set up offices in Singapore and China as part of its active international strategy.

RIKEN's research on accelerator science with Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, from 1996 to 2001, was its first full-scale collaboration with India. It has been collaborating on neuroscience with the National Brain Research Institute since 1999, and with the Indian Institute of Technology since 2002. RIKEN has just commenced exchange activities in bioinformatics and computational science with the Indian Institute of Science and the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology.

RIKEN hopes that the agreement with DST and the joint statement by the two countries' Prime Ministers will lead to further organized development of research collaboration, and accelerate the pace of progress of this collaboration.

The main points of the Memorandum of Understanding are as follows.

Title

Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Science and Technology between Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and RIKEN, Japan.

Collaborative activities

Exchange of researchers and technicians from both sides; exchange of scientific and technical information, joint research, seminars, and symposia; personnel training; and considering the possibility of increasing exchange of scientific, academic, and technical personnel.

Term

From December 8, 2006 to December 7, 2009. The agreement can subsequently be renewed every three years.