Aleksandr Lukashenko meets with Vice President of Russia's Academy of Sciences Zhores Alferov

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has met with Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zhores Alferov on 8 June.

The meeting was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. The parties discussed a wide range of issues, including cooperation between academic communities of Belarus and Russia.

“First of all, I would like to thank you for your position. To be honest, I closely watch your speeches and statements… Belarus is your country, your homeland and I really appreciate your position. Probably we were wrong sometimes, but you can challenge anyone for the sake of Belarus. This is your life philosophy. And I would like to thank you for that,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said addressing Zhores Alferov.

“It is absolutely natural; it cannot be otherwise,” the scientist said.

Zhores Alferov praised the development of Belarus. The academician emphasized that Belarus is a modern civilized European country. “Roads, villages, little towns – everything is beautiful. No grandeur, because there are no funds for everything, but everything is neat, clean, trimmed and working.

The scientist is Co-Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Skolkovo Foundation. “We are planning to hold visiting sessions. They were held in Berlin in March, in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok in May and will be held in Minsk on 20-21 September,” he said.

According to Zhores Alferov, the Skolkovo Foundation now plays a prominent role in the development of the high-tech industry on the basis of R&D achievements. International scientific cooperation is fairly vibrant too. The council comprises many eminent scholars not only from Russia but also from the United States, France and Germany. “When I suggested holding a session in Minsk, I thought about the international press which, in my view, gives a distorted view of how things are in our Belarus. I also wanted outstanding foreign scientists to see that Belarus has strong academic traditions, works on new technologies, including advanced ones, that Minsk is the cleanest city in Europe and one of the most beautiful ones,” Zhores Alferov said.

In addition to these considerations, it is also of paramount importance (because the Skolkovo Foundation is interested in creating new advanced international companies) that Belarus should become an active participant of this process for its own benefit and for the benefit of the world,” the scholar believes.

The Skolkovo Foundation has identified five promising areas of work: energy and energy efficiency, information technology, space technology, biomedical and nuclear technologies. “Belarusian scholars are working on all five. There are certain achievements. We will discuss pilot projects. Belarus can participate virtually in all these areas. Today Belarusians are involved in Skolkovo projects, but this cooperation needs to be expanded,” Zhores Alferov said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko promised to assist in organizing the Minsk session of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Skolkovo Foundation. It was agreed that it will be held in the National Library.

In addition, the meeting discussed development problems of high technology and science in academic institutions and universities of Belarus.