Belarus suggests cooperation in electric transport, ecology to Rosatom

Sergei Shlychkov said: “The State Committee on Science and Technology started interacting with Rosatom upon Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko’s instruction to determine avenues of cooperation between our country and the state corporation [Rosatom] on atomic non-energy projects and non-atomic projects. I led a delegation of our country, which visited several Rosatom divisions in March 2023. As a result of the visit we determined 10-12 cooperation areas where it is possible to work out projects and programs by adding up our competences. With this in mind we recommended a set of tools that works well within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia: R&D programs and innovative projects of the Union State. The main directions we have chosen include the management of radioactive waste, smart cities, creation of an enterprise to make measuring equipment, and targeted radiopharmaceutical medications.”

The governments of Belarus and Russia signed a memorandum on stepping up strategic cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy and allied high technologies in St. Petersburg on 29 January. A comprehensive program was developed in furtherance of the memorandum in order to guide Belarus-Russia cooperation on atomic non-energy projects and non-atomic projects. The program was signed on the sidelines of the international forum Atomexpo in Sochi on 25 March. “It is an organizational and legal tool, which can be augmented with new areas and which can be adjusted depending on our needs,” the chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology explained.

The development of possible avenues of cooperation with Rosatom does not end at that. Representatives of Belarus and Russia continue discussing cooperation options at Atomexpo. “We’ve brought proposals on several other areas. Electric transport is one of them. Belarus pays a lot of attention to this area. A comprehensive development program for 2021-2025 has been approved. The second area is ecology. Rosatom has a division dedicated to ecological matters. Procedures for collecting, sorting, secondary usage, and recycling of waste are in the center of attention. We like the fact that they have developed an effective business model that does not require subsidies from other sources. This area looks very promising to us. On the Belarusian side about ten representatives of small and medium businesses focus on this area. Their technological competences will surely be of interest for the state corporation. After all, Rosatom’s main sphere of competences is the management of radioactive waste. As for other kinds of waste, we have something to share from the technological point of view. We are ready for interaction,” Sergei Shlychkov noted.

The international forum Atomexpo is a major exhibition and business venue where the current state of the atomic industry is discussed and trends of the industry’s future development take shape. Taking part in the forum are heads of key companies of the world atomic industry, government agencies, international and public organizations, leading experts. A Belarusian delegation is also taking part in the forum.