MINSK, 17 February (BelTA) – It is important to predict in advance reference points and strategic avenues of development for the Eurasian Economic Union member states in order not to lose competitive advantages. Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee of Belarus Aleksandr Shumilin made the statement at a session of the presidium of the Science and Technology Council under Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Shumilin stressed: “In the near future it is necessary to concentrate the scientific, technological, and innovative potential of our countries on creating new, high-tech products that are competitive on the home market. To accomplish that, it will be necessary to focus efforts on breakthrough scientific research and development on the basis of credible technological forecasts for the union member states.”
In his opinion, in order to arrange technological foresight in the Eurasian Economic Union it is necessary to analyze the available experience of foresight research in the EAEU member states and work out common methods. The official suggested using the experience of preparing a comprehensive forecast of Belarus' scientific and technological development as the basis. Methods based on the Delphi technique were worked out and used in order to prepare the forecast. The people responsible took into account the forecast of Russia's scientific and technological development till 2030, the strategy of American leadership in cutting-edge manufacturing, and key trends as specified by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Gartner. The forecast covers the 14 most important branches of the Belarusian economy that account for over 70% of the country's GDP.
The long-term forecast of Belarus' scientific and technological development includes ratings of 338 technologies, goods and services, which development and emergence on the market are supposed to happen by 2040. The main results of the forecast include a list of promising technologies, goods, and services for the 2021-2025 period and for the period till 2040 as well as priority avenues of scientific, R&D, and innovative activities for the next five years. Apart from that, results of the forecast have been used to formulate proposals on promising innovative projects. Those include autonomous electric transport, industrial collaborative robots, high-tech medical equipment, innovative construction materials with tailor-made properties, organic agricultural products and food based on Belarusian raw materials.
