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ActiveDepartment of State · 2026

Middle East Regional Cooperation Program

Quick Facts

Agency: Department of State
Funding: See RFP
Deadline: Rolling
Status: Active
Eligibility: Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, in addition to Israel the following countries/territories are eligible to apply as MENA partners: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Only proposals developed jointly by Arab and Israeli investigators are accepted. All proposals must include at least one institutional partner in Israel and one in an Arab country/territory eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Proposals involving three or more regional partners are also allowed and encouraged. The proposal may be submitted by any party in the collaboration. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions. MERC projects involving Israel and another relatively affluent Arab country (e.g., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) must include a developing country from the region as a partner and/or a beneficiary of the products and processes developed by the research in order to achieve development impact. These affluent countries must adhere to budgetary restrictions, such as cost-sharing in support of salaries and cost of living, maintain the spirit of Arab-Israeli cooperation opposed to primarily engaging foreign expatriates, and target benefits and outcomes of the project to countries and populations of limited income. Satellite or portal campuses of foreign (e.g., U.S., India) institutions are not considered eligible Arab partners. MERC does not encourage the involvement of U.S. partners nor participation of individuals or institutions from outside the MENA region. U.S. partners may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not available in the region. Applicants must be prepared to provide a very well justified case for the participation of partners or individuals from outside the MENA region and accept that MERC may not support the participation of any non-regional partners. The use of any non-regional partner to lead or administer the overall project is discouraged. Eligible applicant types include: Other private institutions/organizations, Anyone/general public, Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education), Quasi-public nonprofit institution/organization, Non-domestic (non-US) Entity, Regional Organization.

About This Grant

Middle East Regional Cooperation Program is sponsored by Department of State. The Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program funds peer-reviewed, collaborative, scientific research projects on development topics between Israel and its Arab neighbors across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Objectives of the program include: (1) Supporting applied actionable research that generates results relevant to regional development; (2) Fostering the implementation of research results and innovations to improve quality of life and achieve development impact in the MENA region; (3) Building science and technology capacity in developing countries in the MENA region; (4) Increasing direct Arab-Israeli cooperation by establishing strong working relationships that last beyond the life of the project.

This listing is currently active. Program number: 19. 502.

Last updated on 2024-05-22.

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Eligibility Requirements

Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, in addition to Israel the following countries/territories are eligible to apply as MENA partners: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance.
Only proposals developed jointly by Arab and Israeli investigators are accepted. All proposals must include at least one institutional partner in Israel and one in an Arab country/territory eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Proposals involving three or more regional partners are also allowed and encouraged. The proposal may be submitted by any party in the collaboration. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions.
MERC projects involving Israel and another relatively affluent Arab country (e.g., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) must include a developing country from the region as a partner and/or a beneficiary of the products and processes developed by the research in order to achieve development impact. These affluent countries must adhere to budgetary restrictions, such as cost-sharing in support of salaries and cost of living, maintain the spirit of Arab-Israeli cooperation opposed to primarily engaging foreign expatriates, and target benefits and outcomes of the project to countries and populations of limited income. Satellite or portal campuses of foreign (e.g., U.S., India) institutions are not considered eligible Arab partners.
MERC does not encourage the involvement of U.S. partners nor participation of individuals or institutions from outside the MENA region. U.S. partners may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not available in the region. Applicants must be prepared to provide a very well justified case for the participation of partners or individuals from outside the MENA region and accept that MERC may not support the participation of any non-regional partners. The use of any non-regional partner to lead or administer the overall project is discouraged. Eligible applicant types include: Other private institutions/organizations, Anyone/general public, Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education), Quasi-public nonprofit institution/organization, Non-domestic (non-US) Entity, Regional Organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply for Middle East Regional Cooperation Program?

According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, in addition to Israel the following countries/territories are eligible to apply as MENA partners: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Only proposals developed jointly by Arab and Israeli investigators are accepted. All proposals must include at least one institutional partner in Israel and one in an Arab country/territory eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Proposals involving three or more regional partners are also allowed and encouraged. The proposal may be submitted by any party in the collaboration. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions. MERC projects involving Israel and another relatively affluent Arab country (e.g., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) must include a developing country from the region as a partner and/or a beneficiary of the products and processes developed by the research in order to achieve development impact. These affluent countries must adhere to budgetary restrictions, such as cost-sharing in support of salaries and cost of living, maintain the spirit of Arab-Israeli cooperation opposed to primarily engaging foreign expatriates, and target benefits and outcomes of the project to countries and populations of limited income. Satellite or portal campuses of foreign (e.g., U.S., India) institutions are not considered eligible Arab partners. MERC does not encourage the involvement of U.S. partners nor participation of individuals or institutions from outside the MENA region. U.S. partners may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not available in the region. Applicants must be prepared to provide a very well justified case for the participation of partners or individuals from outside the MENA region and accept that MERC may not support the participation of any non-regional partners. The use of any non-regional partner to lead or administer the overall project is discouraged. Eligible applicant types include: Other private institutions/organizations, Anyone/general public, Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education), Quasi-public nonprofit institution/organization, Non-domestic (non-US) Entity, Regional Organization. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.

Is Middle East Regional Cooperation Program a federal grant?

Yes — Middle East Regional Cooperation Program is offered by Department of State and this listing comes from SAM.gov, an official U.S. federal source. Federal applications generally require registrations (for example SAM.gov or an agency submission portal), so allow extra lead time.

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