JST decided to start the new projects coordinated by Japan and Russia within the framework of the Strategic International Collaborative Research Program (SICORP^*1) (Appendix 1).

Based on intergovernmental agreements on science and technology cooperation JST has been executing the international joint research program SICORP since FY2009, together with leading countries and regions in research fields that have been strategically prioritized by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT).

JST and Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (MON^*2) opened a joint call for new research projects between the two countries in the field of "Rational nature management including Arctic Research" and "Energy efficiency" (Appendix 2).

Based on the results of an expert evaluation from both Japan and Russia, JST and MON jointly decided to adopt two projects (Appendix 3).

The research period is scheduled to be two years.