INDIA-BRAZIL ACCORD ON JOINT RESEARCH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

---

India and Brazil signed here today an agreement on a workplan for collaboration in various fields of biotechnology including agriculture, medicine and bio-informatics. It was initialled by the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Dr. Manju Sharma and Ambassador Ms Vera Barrouin Machado of Brazil, in the presence of the Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and the Brazilian Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg.

The two sides noted that biotechnology is a priority area for collaboration, as joint research in this field would be very beneficial not only to the two countries but also the humanity as a whole. In agricultural biotechnology, they will work for enhancing nutritional quality of crops especially maize and rice which are important for both the nations. Joint projects will also be taken up in medicinal plants and biodiversity conservation including characterisation of new genes and molecules.

In the field of medical biotechnology, the focus will be on tropical diseases like dengue, malaria, tuberculosis and leptospirosis. Brain research also forms another subject of collaboration besides bio-informatics and animal genomics, particularly buffalo.

Both Dr. Joshi and Dr. Sardenberg described the work plan agreement as a milestone in scientific relations between the two nations. Both the ministers agreed to speed up collaboration and implementation of the research projects.