MINSK, 26 May (BelTA) - Belarusian Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin has signed the Council of Ministers’ resolution on ensuring technological sovereignty and on the procedure for competitive selection and implementation of selected projects and works financed from budget funds,
BelTA learned from the government press service.
The resolution expands the mechanisms for ensuring technological sovereignty. In addition to research and development, a new area has been added - the creation and modernization of production facilities for critical goods. It has been determined that relevant activities may be implemented under state programs. The State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST) is empowered to compile, together with interested parties, and approve a list of critical technologies and critical goods. To implement the resolution, the SCST will establish an Interdepartmental Council for Ensuring Technological Sovereignty, and will develop provisions for this council as well as for the procedure to create and update the list of critical technologies and critical goods. Certain terms and definitions relating to ensuring technological sovereignty are also clarified.
In addition, the resolution approves the procedure for the competitive selection and implementation of projects and works financed from the national budget, including funds from the National Centralized Innovation Fund. It provides for determining the procedure for competitive selection of works related to organizing and ramping up production, as well as venture projects, for subsequent repayable financing through the Belarusian Innovation Fund. It also expands the list of state customers for such works and venture projects. Specifically, technology parks, the Administration of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone, and free economic zone administrations (as customers of local projects under the state innovative development program) are now included in the list of state customers. Furthermore, the resolution clarifies the list of documents required for the competitive selection of innovation projects for subsequent financing by Belarusian Innovation Fund using national budget funds (the National Centralized Innovation Fund) allocated to it, and assigns the SCST the authority to approve said list of documents.
According to the government press service, the implementation of the resolution’s provisions will create a comprehensive system of measures to ensure the country’s technological security. This means that assigned tasks, projects, and activities involving research, development, adaptation, production implementation, and/or modernization of critical technologies and critical goods, as well as the creation and modernization of production facilities for critical goods, will be included not only in relevant scientific and technical programs but also in other state programs. It will also allow small organizations and medium-sized enterprises to apply the implementation mechanisms of the state innovative development program and participate in the competitive selection of works related to organizing and ramping up production in order to obtain repayable financing through the Belarusian Innovation Fund.