On November 17, the Management Agreement Concerning Operations of ALMA was signed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Associated Universities Inc. (AUI), and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

This management agreement, abiding by the principles of the Agreement Concerning the Operations of ALMA signed in December 2015, sets up a basic framework for the ALMA operations that covers tasks and responsibilities of three executives, organizational structure for management and operations of ALMA, staff employment, and financial matters, etc.

The signing ceremony was held at the ALMA Santiago Central Office in Chile and attended by Masahiko Hayashi (NAOJ Director General), Ethan J. Schreier (AUI President) and Tim de Zeeuw (ESO Director General). Upon the signature, the representatives shook hands and affirmed their commitment to fulfill the respective responsibilities toward the common goal to make ALMA a world-class scientific project capable of continuously producing transformational science.

Figure 2 From left: Masahiko Hayashi (NAOJ Director General), Ethan J. Schreier (AUI President) and Tim de Zeeuw (ESO Director General) shaking hands upon the signature.
Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)