The Director of the National Science Foundation (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Director”) is authorized to establish an endowed, nongovernmental, nonprofit foundation (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Foundation”) in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
As a condition of participation in the Foundation, an independent state of the former Soviet Union must make a minimum contribution to the endowment of the Foundation, as determined by the Director, which shall reflect the ability of the independent state to make a financial contribution and its expected level of participation in the Foundation’s programs.
To the extent provided in advance by appropriations Acts, local currencies or other assets resulting from government-to-government debt conversions may be made available to the Foundation. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “debt conversion” means an agreement whereby a country’s government-to-government or commercial external debt burden is exchanged by the holder for local currencies, policy commitments, other assets, or other economic activities, or for an equity interest in an enterprise theretofore owned by the debtor government.
In addition to other uses provided by law, and subject to agreement with the foreign government, local currencies generated by United States assistance programs may be made available to the Foundation.