125 



magnets and three foreign-produced superconducting coils (from the EC/FRG, 

 Japan and Switzerland) are all being tested at Oak Ridge National 

 Laboratory at a unique test facility, thereby advancing the state of the 

 art and performing tests and exchanging design and performance information 

 which would not otherwise have been possible for the amount of funds 

 expended. 



Some multilateral arrangements also serve foreign policy purposes. For 

 example, many R&D activities under the lEA assist smaller countries who 

 cannot afford to do all the R&D required to reduce their dependency on 

 imported energy sources. By working through the lEA, they are in a much 

 better position to be able to select technology which will reduce their 

 energy dependency, and thereby contribute to the common energy security 

 objectives of the lEA Member Countries. In such cases, DOE helps other 

 countries while helping itself. 



Multilateral organizations are used in arranging international conferences 

 when representation from many countries is desired. Also, when a compre- 

 hensive review of the state-of-the-art of a technical area is desired, 

 arranging such a review through an international organization lends some 

 prestige to the review as well as signaling that the review has importance 

 greater than purely national concerns. In this way, a multilateral 

 arrangement helps to gain access to the world's best experts. 



Although bilateral agreements in general are easier to negotiate than 

 multilateral agreements, this is not always the case. The pace of some 

 bilateral negotiations depends upon the individual country involved rather 



