Business news

MINSK, 16 March (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia will discuss a joint hi-tech park concept Minsk on 16 March, Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee of Belarus Alexander Shumilin told reporters before the beginning of the session of the Russian-Belarusian commission for scientific and technical cooperation, BelTA has learned.

“The initiative to create the Belarusian-Russian hi-tech park was conceived at the end of 2015; this project will be one of the main issues on our agenda today. Now we are planning to prepare the draft concept of the program,” Alexander Shumilin noted.

He explained that the Belarusian State University which will be the platform for the hi-tech park on Belarus’ behalf has already started negotiations with a number of universities of St. Petersburg. “We are currently mulling over other cities such as Moscow and Tomsk. This is a very promising project for the involvement of young people and students in the development of innovative business and new innovative enterprises. This is the future of our Union State. We can say that this will be the first hi-tech park of the Union State,” Alexander Shumilin emphasized.

The chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee said that the project is aimed at facilitating the commercialization of research projects. “Apart from that, we have not had any projects involving young people before. I think that the hi-tech park will help us develop a youth project within the framework of the Union State in the future,” he explained.

The Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Russia Lyudmila Ogorodova remarked that the creation of this hi-tech park is a promising idea. “For example, young scientists have created a hi-tech park for young scientists in Kazan. As far as I can see, they like its training courses very much. As a result, young people promote the initiatives of other young people. Therefore, it is a wonderful idea to implement a similar project in the Union State,” Lyudmila Ogorodova emphasized.