MINSK, 26 May (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia have developed a science and technology development strategy for the Union State, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology of Belarus Andrei Kosovsky said during the joint meeting of the Presidiums of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Russian Academy of Sciences, BelTA has learned.
According to him, the decision to draft such a strategy was made last year. A working group was put together for this purpose. The Belarusian part of the working group included representatives of the State Committee on Science and Technology, the National Academy of Sciences, the Education Ministry, the Industry Ministry, the Healthcare Ministry, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the Agriculture and Food Ministry, the Belneftekhim concern, as well as Belarusian universities. This document was discussed at the meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers on 27 March 2023. As the financial authorities of the two countries put forward some remarks on the document, an instruction was given to fine-tune it.
“By now, the strategy has been finalized taking into account the remarks and proposals received. The Council of Ministers and the Supreme State Council of the Union State issued draft resolutions to approve the strategy. These draft resolutions have already been agreed by Russia and are currently undergoing the internal approval procedure in Belarus. After that they will be submitted to the Union State Standing Committee and will be discussed at the next meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers,” Andrei Kosovsky said.
The strategy lays out the goal, main tasks and areas of scientific and technological development of the Union State. Andrei Kosovsky emphasized that the document will heighten the role of science and technology in social and economic development of the Union State and consequently it will improve the Union State's ability to respond to existing and emerging challenges, improve the quality of life of people, maintain security in the Union State and help Belarus and Russia move up the ranking in the global rating of living standards. The plans include technological renewal of traditional sectors of the economy in Belarus and Russia and an increase in the share of products made by new high-tech and science-intensive industries. In addition to that, there are plans to create an effective system for conducting and financing research and development, to facilitate the promotion of research outcomes of the Union State on new markets, and to earn more from the export of high-tech products and intellectual property rights.
The implementation of the strategy will be overseen by the Commission for the Formation of a Common Science and Technology Space in the Union State. Russia's Kurchatov Institute and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus were designated as the base research organizations. The strategy will be implemented in line with an action plan to be developed by the State Committee on Science and Technology of Belarus and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in close cooperation with leading research organizations.
