The exact version of the framework agreement on such cooperation was completed on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Czech Republic and the United States signed a treaty on the stationing of a radar base on Czech soil within the U.S.
anti-missile shield. To take effect, the treaty is yet to be ratified by parliament, which is expected no sooner than this autumn, and signed by the president. First deputy foreign minister Tomas Pojar said the framework agreement on scientific cooperation would be signed within two to three months. "The access of our businesspeople, our firms, our scientific and Iran will aim missiles at Europe in three years - U.S.official ...
Queiroz poised for Portugal job ... research workplaces will be facilitated," Pojar said. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) that finances Pechoucek's project will decide on the basis of the project which out of the 24 beforehand proposed research fields it will support. Originally, 15 fields were proposed, including laser technologies, theoretical mathematics, micro-satellites, signal processing, and modelling and simulations. The Czechs later offered nine more fields, such as protection against biological weapons, nanotechnologies, robotics and networks safety. Pechoucek's group of some 30 experts is to hand the definitive list with the evaluation of particular institutions to the United States and the Czech government science and research council in November. MDA director Henry Obering told CTK today that one offered project was so interesting that the Americans chose it even before the framework agreement text was signed on Wednesday. It is "stereoscopic imaging" research conducted at CVUT by the Centre of machine perception of Professor Vaclav Hlavac. "Tens of millions of dollars flow through in the huge worldwide anti-missile defence business annually and the U.S. Defense Department's annual budget has nine billion dollars. This is big money and it would be good to get reach even of a fraction of it because Czech firms have not yet had access to these contacts and development projects," Pojar said. Obering said the United States has signed a similar agreement with only a few countries, including Japan and Britain.
(Ceske Noviny)
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