U.S. firms planned to found a consortium along with Czech scientific centers that would focus on the research of technologies related to the U.S. missile defense system, U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) head Henry Obering said at a press conference held here on Thursday.
Obering said Czech Science Academy and universities will be part of the planned consortium that is to help prepare contracts between Czech and U.S. companies, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
An exclusive treaty on Czech firms and scientists participating in the U.S. missile defense project might be reached by the end of June, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said on Wednesday.
It is to minimize the legal, business and political barriers and facilitate Czech firms' entry on the U.S. market.
The United States has signed similar exclusive agreements with Japan, Italy, Australia, Britain and Denmark for the time being, and negotiations with seven other countries are underway.
Obering said the Czechs might cooperate on the development of radar devices, algorithms, display methods, models and simulations, lasers and software.
He said he expected first results and contracts in a few months.
Czech Deputy Defense Minister Martin Bartak said the Czech Republic can offer its experiences in the areas of nanotechnologies, chemistry and biotechnologies, as well as its experiences with explosives, computers and military repairs.
Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar said the ministry would be assessing the seminar's results in the month to come.
A conference on the same issue will be held in summer, he added.
More than 40 Czech firms and about ten U.S. firms discussed opportunities for possible bilateral cooperation at the two-day seminar in Prague that ended on Thursday.
The United States initiated the plan to deploy an anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland.
Russia has expressed strong objections to the U.S. missile defense program in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Some 70 percent of Czechs reject the planned U.S. radar base in their country, according to a survey conducted by the CVVM polling institute.
Source: Xinhua
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