ICTP and the Jordan-based Synchrotron Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) have agreed on a programme of joint activities to be performed over the next two years at both the Middle East facility and Trieste. The agreement follows on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two institutes in 2009.

Through the cooperative agreement, ICTP will promote the participation of scientists from SESAME countries in several scientific conferences, including the 2011 ICTP/ELETTRA/IAEA School on Synchrotron Radiation for Environment and Cultural Heritage, and the 2012 ICTP/ELETTRA School on Synchrotron and Free-Electron Laser Sources and their Multidisciplinary Applications. ICTP also will strengthen its role in SESAME's training programmes, and will support missions of experts to the SESAME facility via ICTP's Office of External Activities.

SESAME is an intergovernmental organization created under the umbrella of UNESCO, and is the Middle East's first major international research centre. Its mission is to build scientific capacity and contribute to economic development in the Middle East, the Mediterranean region and surrounding areas by enabling a wide range of applied science, and to build bridges between cultures through scientific and technical collaboration.