BELARUS FOR LONG-TERM SCIENTIFIC PARTNERSHIP
WITH INDIA
JOINT CENTRE FOR TECH-TRANSFER
AND COMMERCIALISATION PROPOSED
Belarus wants to
forge a long-term partnership with India in various fields of
science and technology including some strategic areas as well
as material science. It also wants to concretise the programmes
already identified for collaboration. This emerged at a meeting,
the Minister for Human Resource Development and Science and Technology
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi had with the visiting Prime Minister of
Belarus Mr. Gennadiy V. Novitsky, here today.
Mr. Novitsky and
Dr. Joshi agreed on the need for joint development of technologies
as well as commercialising them. In this regard, Dr. Joshi suggested
the setting up of a Joint Centre for Technology Transfer and Commercialisation.
The two leaders felt that it is time to strengthen technological
collaboration so as to lead the two countries to further economic
progress.
Mr. Novitsky said,
the exhibition of technologies in each other’s country held recently,
will go a long way in intensifying the scientific relations and
create mutual awareness of the state-of-the-art scientific innovations
in both the nations. Describing India as an advanced nation in
the scientific and technological field, the Belarus Prime Minister
said that the coming together of the two sides will greatly benefit
the peoples of both the countries. He also expressed the keen
desire to have enhanced ties in the educational field, particularly
higher technical education.
Dr. Joshi told the
Belarus Prime Minister that India has the expertise in commercialisation
of technologies and the two countries can together explore the
global market for the same. He said India is impressed by Belarus’s
technologies especially in material sciences and defence. Scientists
from both the sides should immediately get down to business and
identify those technologies which have global potential and market
them, Dr. Joshi suggested. Echoing Mr. Novitsky’s sentiments,
Dr. Joshi said, India always believed in reliable, cooperative
and friendly, partnership with countries of the world.
Under the new programme
of cooperation signed between the two sides during the recent
visit of the Minister of State for Science and Technology to Belarus,
a beginning has been made in the field of optical components,
an area of Belarusian strength and joint research and technology
transfer in powder metallurgy and new materials.
Belarus is one of
the technologically well-developed countries of the erstwhile
Soviet Union, with a network of more than 300 R&D institutions.
Belarus played an important role in the setting up of an International
advanced research centre for powder metallurgy and new materials
in Hyderabad. The areas covered under the new programme of cooperation
include advanced materials, laser science and technology, mechanical
engineering, computing and information technology, medical research
including drugs and biotechnology.
Mr. Novitsky’s visit
to India is considered as of strategic importance to India. It
has been consistently supporting India at the UN on various issues
including terrorism. It was one of the founding members of the
United Nations.
