OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2011. Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev held a business meeting with representatives of development institutions in order to assist in implementing development projects in the innovation sphere.

The meeting’s participants discussed issues of setting up a VEB-Innovations Fund (the Fund for Financial Promotion of Skolkovo Projects). Vnesheconombank is undertaking this line of activity in accordance with the recently approved Strategy of Russia’s Innovative Development for a period of up to 2020. The Fund is scheduled to provide support for the already existing innovation programs as well as to work out new initiatives aimed at creating an innovation sector in the Russian economy.

For the most part, the Fund’s activity is designed to contribute to the development of the Russian Government’s innovation programs, create an innovation infrastructure, raise high-risk (venture) investments for Russian innovation companies, assist in attracting foreign advanced technologies to Russia, promote Russian innovations to the world market and raise direct investments from international investors for Russia’s industrial-technological sector.

Vnesheconombank’s Supervisory Board approved the creation of a VEB-Innovations Fund in April of 2011. The Fund is expected to start operating as early as in January of 2012.

In the course of the meeting its participants discussed Vnesheconombank’s cooperation with development institutions in implementing development projects on the territory of the Russian Federation. Top priority was given to implementing Vnesheconombank’s Program to Assist in Funding Development Projects as well as to the Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund.

In the attendance of the meeting were Director General of the Federal Project Finance Center (OJSC) Maria Kalugina, Director General of the Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund Gennady Alexeev as well as Head of the working group on creating a VEB-Innovations Fund Alexei Morozov, Board Member-Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman Anatoly Ballo, Director of Vnesheconombank’s Public Private Partnership Center Alexandr Bazhenov.

Open Joint Stock Company The Federal Project Finance Center was set up under the Resolution of the Russian Government dated June 2, 1995 in order to prepare and implement projects provided for by the agreement between the Russian Federation and international financial institutions as well as projects funded through using funds raised from other foreign sources. The Company’s shares are wholly owned by the Russian Federation. Under the Order of the Russian Government dated April, 21, 2010 and the Order of the Federal Property Management Agency dated October 29, 2010, 10% of shares were contributed to Vnesheconombank’s charter capital. The Federal Project Finance Center is an operator of Vnesheconombank’s Program to Assist in Funding Development Projects.

OJSC The Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund was set up under the decision  of Vnesheconombank’s Supervisory Board dated September 29, 2011 in order to assist in developing investment activity  in constituent entities of the Far East and the Baikal region as well as to prepare quality projects of regional and urban development . The Fund was registered in the city of Khabarovsk in November of 2011. It will have its representative offices in Moscow, Vladivostok and in one of the regions of the Pre-Baikal Territory (Trans-Baikal Territory, the Republic of Buryatia, the Irkutsk region).