The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) announced the new projects provisionally selected for the Fiscal Year 2024 Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program.

SATREPS is a science and technology diplomacy initiative that promotes international joint research using advanced science and technology from Japan in combination with Official Development Assistance (ODA). The program is a collaboration between JST, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Based on the needs of developing countries, JST and JICA cooperate to promote international joint research targeting global issues with an objective of utilization of research outcomes. Implemented through collaboration with ODA, the aim of the program is to acquire new knowledge and technology that lead to the resolution of global issues and the advancement of science and technology, and through this process, to create innovations. International joint research under this program also aims to enhance the research and development capabilities of developing countries, and helps create sustainable systems able to address and resolve issues. Also, SATREPS will actively correspond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribute to the international community.

For FY2024, JST called for SATREPS project proposals from researchers in Japan in its three research fields—Environment/Energy, Bioresources, and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation—and began to accept proposals on August 22nd, 2023. A total of 64 proposals were submitted by the close of applications on October 23rd, 2023. The screening committee, composed of external experts, then reviewed the proposal documents and conducted interviews, including review from an ODA perspective, and provisionally selected 10 new projects, comprising five projects collaborating with Asian researchers, three projects with African researchers, and two projects with European researchers. Projects involving the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic were selected for the first time, bringing the total number of countries selected for SATREPS projects to 57 (58 including projects under administration of AMED). In this call for proposals, one proposal was selected as the SATREPS Projects Promoting Focused Themes.

SATREPS projects in the field of Infectious Diseases Control were transferred to AMED on April 1st, 2015, and are now conducted in collaboration between AMED and JICA.