Today at the 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Asian Forum on Polar Sciences (AFoPS) the President of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Dr Yeadong Kim, the President of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), Prof Larry Hinzmann and the Chair of AFoPS, Prof Azizan Abu Samah, renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the three organisations.
Through the MoU the organisations recognise the common goal of working internationally on polar science and technology to increase understanding of Earth’s Polar Regions and their connections to the global system.
The purpose of the present MoU is to foster cooperation between IASC, SCAR and the AFoPS members, and to lay the foundation for a joint effort in developing international programs and initiatives based on scientific priorities, scientific excellence and shared use of Asian Antarctic and Arctic infrastructures for scientific and technological purposes, as well as increasing the engagement of Asian Scientists in both IASC and SCAR activities. The MoU is for a term of 5 years and follows the initial MoU between the organisations, signed in 2016.