Integration of Russia and Ukraine in Science and Technology Will Boost Their Competitiveness - Findings of the EDB-Sponsored Study
Almaty, 24 February 2011. The current situation is favourable for making a breakthrough and restoring full-range Russian-Ukrainian economic cooperation in key industries – these are the findings of a joint study entitled Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Russia and Ukraine: Forecasting Opportunities and Mechanisms for Their Implementation, conducted by the Institute of National Economy Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the initiative and with support of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).
The authors stress that reviving cooperation in science and technology will give both economies a real chance of becoming prominent players on international markets of science-intensive products which are “closed for outsiders”.
Since the Soviet period, a number of major Ukrainian companies were made parts of technological chains to manufacture science-intensive products jointly with Russian counterparts. These include the design bureau Yuzhnoye, the space rocket complex Yuzhmash, the nuclear and mechanical engineering company Turboatom, the aircraft engineering company Antonov, Motor-Sich, Zirka, Progress, the Frunze Sumskoye Group (producer of oil industry equipment), the Kharkov Tractor Works, and the Barsky Mechanical Engineering Works (producer of farm machinery).
Direct investments in the Ukrainian economy by Russian companies are on an upward trend, with an increase by 2.5 times since 2007. This contains excellent promise for accelerated industrial trans-border integration, particularly, in science-intensive sectors.
“The mission of the Eurasian Development Bank is to assist integration processes in Eurasia, and the presented project is fully consistent with this goal”, said Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Executive Board. “This is the second study financed by the EDB as part of its Technical Assistance Fund activity, which was conducted by the Institute of National Economy Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Notably, both these studies consistently serve the same goal – to develop cooperation between Russia and Ukraine based on fuller use of the two countries’ scientific and technological potential”.
Igor Finogenov also commented that the EDB negotiates with the Government of Ukraine the country’s joining the Bank and the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund. “Therefore the Bank has its interests there: we are trying to establish in what industries or investment projects our participation will be most efficient, where the risks lie, and how we should respond to them”, concluded the EDB Chairman.
Additional Information
The Institute of National Economy Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a specialised economic research institution founded in 1986. The main activities of the Institute include developing comprehensive forecasts of economic development in the short, medium and longer term; formulating development strategies for regions with an emphasis on general economic priorities; and forecasting and analytical studies for large companies and public agencies in Russia.
The Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is the successor of the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine which was founded in 1997 with a mandate to develop strategic forecasts and socioeconomic development programmes for Ukraine. The main task of the Institute is to carry out fundamental and applied studies aimed at identifying the directions and methods of economic system development, strategic forecasts and economic development programmes.