U.S. Department of State: Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program

Supports collaborative, applied scientific research among the United States, Israel, and countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
MERC is open to proposals from any sector or scientific discipline, but prioritizes projects demonstrating strong alignment with U.S. strategic, economic, and technological interests, including:
• Critical & Emerging Technologies
• Energy Security & Systems
• Water & Infrastructure
• Advanced Agriculture & Ag-Tech
• Critical Minerals & Advanced Manufacturing
• Health Security & Biotechnology
* All projects must include a minimum one Israeli recipient and one recipient from an eligible MENA country/territory, including: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza.
Funding: $100K to $2M for 1-4 years.
https://www.state.gov/middle-east-regional-cooperation-merc-program/
https://trdf.technion.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MERC-Info-Sheet-2026.pdf
MERC will host a 30-minute webinar on Wednesday, July 22 at 8:00 EDT (15:00 Jerusalem) to present the program’s newly released Notice of Funding Opportunity. RSVP here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/CcK7rHA6je