India’s CSIR and Ethiopia’s MIDI Reached $7 Million Deal

The agreement between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India and Metal Industries Development Institute (MIDI) of Ethiopia is to implement a program in Ethiopia which will enable the country to enhance in its research and development capacity.

By Vishwa Mohan (Times of India)

NEW DELHI, India―Seeking to increase its footprints in Africa, India’s pubic sector R&D body – Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – has signed an agreement with the Metal Industries Development Institute (MIDI) of Ethiopia to implement a twinning program in that country where the Indian research institution will help the African nation in enhancing its capacity.

The CSIR has clinched the seven million US dollar assignment through a process where many international organizations, including from European countries, were initially considered by Ethiopia for the program. The National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur (NML) will be one of the key participating CSIR laboratories in this twinning program.

The agreement, signed in Addis Ababa on June 7, is one of the largest programs between a CSIR institute and a foreign entity in terms of contractual amount. The Indian scientific research body had earlier signed a similar deal with Ethiopian institution for developing leather and leather products a few years ago.

“The MIDI will be positioned to emerge as a globally competitive center of excellence in the field of metals and engineering through the twinning program. It should also facilitate the CSIR’s future collaborations with African organizations”, said the India research body in a statement.