BEING IN GREAT DISTRESS FOR MONEY, ARMENIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE TO USE EXPERIENCE OF ACADEMY OF BELARUS

ArmInfo
2010-05-17 17:30:00

ArmInfo. An agreement on scientific cooperation between the National
Academy of Sciences of Armenia and Belarus was signed at today’s
enlarged sitting of the Presidium of the Armenian National Academy of
Sciences. The agreement was signed by the President of the Armenian
Academy Radik Martirosyan and Chairman of Presidium of the Belarussian
Academy Mikhail Myasnikovich.

Radik Martirosyan told journalists that under the agreement the
Academies of Armenia and Belarus will cooperate in the sphere of
material sciences, particularly, creation of new materials, nuclear
energy, information technologies, and space exploration. The experience
of Belarus is especially important for the Armenian Academy to bring
its scientific ideas and developments to their final result.

Martirosyan said that only 4 bln AMD are allocated from the state
budget for the Armenian Academy, whereas in Belarus the total budget of
the Academy for scientific research is over 300 mln USD, 55% of them
being budget allocations, the rest 45% is earned by the Belarussian
Academy itself, including foreign contracts, projects with real sector
of economy, agreements with regional authorities. In addition to
financial support, to stimulate innovations in business Belarus has
introduced some legislative amendments, which envisage concessional
taxation for enterprises interested in introduction of innovations.

According to Chairman of the Presidium of the Belarussian National
academy of Sciences M.Myasnikovich, the peculiarity of the Academy of
Belarus is that the Academy has 12 scientific and practical centers
comprising several scientific institutes, as well as industrial and
design and experimental enterprises. This will allow the Beralussian
Academy to not only design samples on the basis of scientific research
results, but also produce certain products. In 2009 the Academy
of Belarus managed to produce microbiological devices and magnetic
materials worth 100 mln USD. As regards the Armenian Academy, it is
deprived of this opportunity due to the lack of funds and relevant
scientific research infrastructure. .

Despite all the achievements of the National Academy of Sciences
of Belarus, Myasnikovich thinks that the research intensity of the
Belarussian economy is not so high – 0.8% of GDP, half of which is
budget allocations. To improve this index, the Academy of Belarus
has worked out new draft target sci8entific and technical programmes.

Myasnikovich called the contract signed between the two academies
a "reference" one, since the contract creates certain conditions
for holding of practical work over the projects on the level of
scientific-research institutes of Armenia and Belarus. He also added
that signing of this contract was observed by President Lukaskenko,
for this reason it has a state status.

To note, over the working visit of the Belarussian delegation to
Armenia, Myasnikovich will meet Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran
Sarkisyan.