Brazil–Uruguay initiative will bring together research, innovation, training, and shared scientific infrastructure under joint governance by both countries.
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is the Brazilian institution responsible for leading a partnership between Brazil and Uruguay aimed at expanding cooperation in life sciences research, technological innovation, and human resources development. The initiative will initially receive R$ 50 million from the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development) to support its first activities.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday (28) in Montevideo, Uruguay, in the presence of Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos; Uruguay’s Vice President Carolina Cosse; CNPEM Director-General Antonio José Roque; and Maria Augusta Arruda, Director of the National Laboratory of Biosciences (LNBio/CNPEM). Former senator and former Vice President of Uruguay Lucía Topolansky, widow of former President Pepe Mujica—whose name will be given to one of the programs to be implemented—also attended the ceremony.
On the Brazilian side, the memorandum involves the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and CNPEM. Uruguay is represented by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and the Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute (IIBCE).
“The idea is for CNPEM, in alignment with MCTI, and IIBCE, with the support of Uruguay’s MEC, to coordinate the creation of a center dedicated to organizing joint research themes, fostering human capacity-building, and structuring collaborative networks involving other institutions as well. This is a bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Uruguay, with the potential to articulate projects and initiatives in partnership with different stakeholders from both countries. Details are still being defined, with the first planned activity being the visit of Uruguayan researchers to CNPEM,” said José Roque.
During the event, Minister Luciana Santos emphasized the role of the partnership in opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. “I consider the signing of this memorandum of understanding a milestone for this new moment we intend to begin. We will translate the friendship between our peoples and our political alignment into practical actions, with research and innovation as drivers of shared development,” she stated.
The Brazil–Uruguay Center for Research and Innovation in Life Sciences, formed by IIBCE and CNPEM, will define priority areas, carry out research, development, and innovation projects, promote training initiatives, foster exchanges of researchers and students, and organize scientific events, while sharing scientific and technological infrastructure. The agreement also establishes binational governance, responsible for strategic guidance and decision-making.
