OREANDA-NEWS. September 25, 2012. The Belarusian government will create comfortable terms for Skolkovo’s branch in Belarus, said Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich as he met with members of the Advisory Scientific Board and top executives of the Russian foundation Skolkovo.

Mikhail Myasnikovich said: “We are ready to work on principles of partnership and mutual profit. The Belarus government will create comfortable conditions for the establishment and the operation of the Skolkovo branch in Belarus”. The project will be a priority one. It is supported at the government level.

The Prime Minister also suggested creating a joint working group to work out approaches to manufacturing cooperation, including cooperation in the examination of projects and the operation of the foundation in Belarus. “We will find money for profitable projects. The government will not stay away from these processes,” he said.

Innovation-driven development is the key priority for Belarus. The strategy to set up new enterprises, cutting-edge industries is implemented at the state level. Innovation laws are improved, comfortable conditions for scientists are created. Close attention is paid to the development of the biotech cluster and space technologies. Belarus has launched a satellite of its own to remotely sense the Earth. There are plans to launch a Belarusian communication satellite in the future.

Belarusian scientists take an active part in international projects. Participation in the creation and operation of the Large Hadron Collider is a vivid example. The Belarusian scientific community tightly cooperates with colleagues in Russia, Germany, the UK, France, and other countries. In the last ten years Belarus has improved its knowledge index rating and now occupies the 45th position out of 146 countries.

Nobel Prize winner Zhores Alferov remarked that unlike other ex-USSR republics Belarus has preserved its high-tech potential. He said he was in favor of creating a Skolkovo branch in Belarus. The project will become a platform for new scientific ideas, breakthrough projects that can achieve important results for the international scientific community. “Belarus’ experience is useful for us,” said Zhores Alferov.