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Expert names most promising areas of Belarus-Russia sci-tech cooperation

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MINSK, 20 December (BelTA) – Important issues across a number of fields, including science and technology, were discussed at the Minsk meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on 19 December. The Russian leader confirmed plans to send a Belarusian cosmonaut into space in 2023. Doctor of Economics Valery Bainev told BelTA about promising areas of cooperation in science and technology between Belarus and Russia.

“If we combine our potentials, we will be competitive in all respects. Over the past 20 years, Russia has relied on gas, oil, metal ores, in other words, on raw materials. At the same time, Belarus, a country that is not rich in natural resources, has relied on intelligence, hard work, scientific and technical potential. Therefore, it turned out that Belarus and Russia complement each other,” said Valery Bainev.

Russia is now in a difficult situation, since it has found itself on the receiving end of  collective aggression, the economist noted. “Russia is aware that raw materials alone will not suffice. That is why Vladimir Putin came to Belarus. He wants to combine natural, territorial and human resources,” he said.

Now space is the breakthrough area in the sci-tech cooperation between Belarus and Russia. “The military situation in Ukraine has shown that space plays a significant role. Indeed, the powerful NATO satellites provide an information advantage on the battlefield. We need to catch up in this field,” said Valery Bainev. “Microelectronics is another very important area in which Belarus has retained a number competences. Our Integral company is a case in point. Russian enterprises rely on imported equipment, while Belarusian enterprises have retained a line of domestically made equipment. Yes, it is not cutting-edge, but it is our own equipment,” he said.

In addition, Valery Bainev noted that machine tool industry is also a very important area of cooperation and it holds a lot of promise. “The technological war that the West has declared upon us, first of all,  is about the ban to supply technological equipment. It causes serious problems, because a significant part of machinery both in Belarus and in Russia is imported. Over time, this equipment will become obsolete and will fail, and under the technological embargo it will be difficult to upgrade or replace it. This industry deserves utmost attention,” the economist stated.

The expert also noted that production of passenger and cargo transport is another promising area of sci-tech cooperation between Belarus and Russia.

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