MINSK, 28 September (BelTA) – Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States are considering the idea of creating an orbital group of satellites for the remote sensing of the Earth, BelTA learned from Piotr Vityaz, Chief of Staff of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, on 28 September.
The CIS member states are intent on effective cooperation in the area of space technologies. For instance, Belarus vigorously cooperates with research institutions of Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS states in this field. “We try to develop the system. We try to create a satellite group of the CIS states,” noted Piotr Vityaz. A joint project to create a joint satellite of the CIS states would be mutually beneficial, too. “It is my personal imitative. No concrete decisions on the project have been made yet,” said the Chief of Staff of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
According to the source, the CIS states should focus efforts on advancing their R&D projects and innovative ideas. “We should determine how knowledge can be converted into commercial products. Knowledge per se does not generate revenues but using this knowledge does. We need science-intensive technologies,” said the official. “For that we need legal protection. We have to work on that yet. Each CIS state should work for the future while keeping an eye on what the neighbors are doing in order to choose the correct direction.”
Piotr Vityaz said that the project to create a CIS satellite group will be discussed during a panel session of the international science and practice conference 25 Years of the Commonwealth of Independent States: Results and Prospects. The conference is scheduled to take place in Minsk on 28-29 September. Over 200 representatives of all the CIS states are taking part in the forum. They represent government agencies, the diplomatic missions, which are accredited in Belarus, ambassadors and plenipotentiaries of the CIS states, representatives of CIS bodies and basic organizations of the CIS states, members of the Commission on Economic Affairs under the CIS Economic Council, heads of major scientific and educational institutions, top scientists and specialists, cultural figures. Participants of the conference are expected to sum up what the Commonwealth of Independent States has achieved in the last 25 years. They will also work out concrete recommendations on ways to step up the CIS' performance in the future.
