Dmitry Chernyshenko attended the plenary session of the 11th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions
Dmitry Chernyshenko attended the plenary session of the 11th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions
Dmitry Chernyshenko attended the plenary session of the 11th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko attended the plenary session of the 11th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions, which was held on 27–28 June in three cities – Vitebsk, Polotsk and Novopolotsk. Delegates from 56 Russian regions and all regions of Belarus participated in the forum, which was organised by the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The plenary session was chaired by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and Speaker of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova. It was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Spivak. President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko sent video addresses to the forum.
Dmitry Chernyshenko began his remarks by thanking the Federation Council and Ms Matviyenko personally for their focus on the scientific-technical and educational spheres and the development of intellectual property. He also expressed gratitude to the speakers of the upper houses of the Russian and Belarusian parliaments for the idea of devoting the joint Russia-Belarus year to science and innovative development. Вьшекн Chernyshenko also suggested adding a youth agenda to the themed year and declaring it the Year of Young Scientists.
The main result of the forum is the adoption of two strategic documents: a new intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in science, technology and innovation, and the Strategy for the Scientific and Technological Development of the Union State until 2035.
“This strategy is a basic document that outlines the main spheres of scientific and technological development of the Union State and is aimed at improving the quality of life in both countries. Russia’s NRC Kurchatov Institute and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus are coordinating a plan for implementing the strategy and hope to have it approved by the end of the year. Russia’s Scientific and Technological Development Strategy has been upgraded this year, and President Vladimir Putin used it as the basis for outlining priority scientific and technological development spheres and essential science-intensive technologies. These documents should be taken into account in the implementation of the plan for consolidating our common efforts,” Dmitry Chernyshenko noted.
“This year we will mark an important date, the 25th anniversary of the Treaty on the Creation of a Union State of Russia and Belarus. In terms of history, 25 years is not a long period of time. However, we have made considerable progress. We have reached an unprecedented level of cooperation in all spheres without exception. We are implementing a number of joint projects, including 28 Union programmes, which are progressing rapidly. We have come a long way in harmonising our legislations and have created a clear legal and institutional framework for our common economic space,” Valentina Matviyenko said.
Dmitry Chernyshenko said that officials responsible for scientific and technological development had been chosen in 80 constituent entities of Russia, and that regional state programmes for scientific and technological development had been launched in pilot mode in 20 regions. He proposed implementing similar initiatives in Belarusian regions so as to develop a closer bilateral dialogue in this sphere. Valentina Matviyenko expressed her support for this idea.
The Deputy Prime Minister informed the audience about the creation of a unified mega-science class research infrastructure in Russia, which will be available to scientists from both countries. Priority access to unique Russian research installations will be part of the support for joint research projects.
In addition, the branch of the NRC Kurchatov Institute, which opened in Belarus last year, will comprise five laboratories, including genetics and microelectronics labs. A network of research and educational laboratories is being established for the study of WWII. The Union State Science and Technology Prize has been awarded annually since 2018. Work is underway to establish a similar prize for young scientists.
The two countries have successful cooperation projects in education.
“Belarus and Russia have a rich history of friendly ties and partnerships in professional education. Our universities and two-year colleges have been fruitfully cooperating and exchanging experience for decades. Last year, about 12,000 students from Belarus were studying in Russia. One of the most successful projects is the Belarusian-Russian University, which serves about 4,000 students. In addition, our leaders have approved the decision to launch the High Technologies University of the Union State in a network format,” Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
Universities in Russia and Belarus are implementing a number of joint projects. In 2022, we launched the advanced engineering school of the Union State, which now has more than 300 students.
The TOGETHER Russian-Belarusian university union, created as part of the Priority-2030 programme, now includes 10 Belarusian and two Russian universities.
The deputy prime minister expressed his gratitude to his Belarusian colleagues for always being ready to discuss cooperation and build a well-coordinated system of industrial cooperation. Some of the resulting integration projects are displayed at the Eurasia is Our Home international expo. He also invited his Belarusian colleagues to attend the Technoprom international forum of technological development, which will be held in Novosibirsk from 27 to 30 August.
In addition, Dmitry Chernyshenko took part in a meeting between Russia’s Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova. Also attending the event were heads of government and legislature in Russian and Belarusian regions.
The Russian side was represented by Governor of the Smolensk Region Vasily Anokhin, Acting Governor of the Vologda Region Georgy Filimonov, Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Andrei Travnikov, Governor of the Oryol Region Andrei Klychkov, and Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexei Dodatko.
“The 11th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions has reached new highs, hitting above the mark in terms of attendance as well as the scale of the problems addressed and the results achieved. I am referring to the number of signed documents and the total volume of investment envisaged, which definitely showed that this format is more in demand than ever. I believe that region-to-region cooperation is the backbone of our Union State. And the more successful direct contacts between regions and people are, the stronger our union will be,” Valentina Matviyenko said.
Natalya Kochanova noted that cooperation between Russia and Belarus is growing thanks to the policy pursued by the presidents of both countries.
“Our presidents met as many as 10 times last year. In addition, Belarus was visited by 38 delegations led by heads of Russian regions, 36 groups led by deputy governors, and 29 headed by regional ministers and their deputies. Cooperation continues at the same pace this year. I would really like to give credit to our regional leaders for such close and fruitful cooperation. In turn, Belarusian delegations made 129 trips to Russian regions, and our Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary held 84 meetings with senior officials from Russian regions,” Natalya Kochanova said.
Following the meeting, a number of agreements were signed between Russian and Belarusian regions and companies covering various areas including trade and the economy, science and technology, and social and cultural cooperation.
