Arkhangelsk Region, Belarus' Academy of Sciences to cooperate in environment, medicine

The governor and the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences' Chairman of the Presidium Vladimir Karanik signed a cooperation agreement in Minsk.

"The areas are numerous: reforestation, environment, new materials, biotechnology, water treatment, medicine," the governor's post reads. "In my opinion, working with peat is particularly promising. Its reserves in the Arkhangelsk Region are more than 700 million tons, and with the right scientific approach, it may become a raw material for production of sorbents, activated carbon and agricultural products." New technologies, products and production facilities would be the result of joint work, he added.

The document establishes long-term cooperation in scientific, technical and innovative activities, where the main areas are reforestation, deep processing of plant raw materials and wood waste, rational environmental management, environmental research, agricultural, industrial and construction technologies, medicine, biotechnology, new materials, information, communication and water treatment technologies.

"The Arkhangelsk Region is the Russian Federation's northernmost region, and we are the Arctic's scientific and educational center," the governor said. "We host the Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, with which we may cooperate on projects in the Arctic Zone; we have the Northern Arctic Federal University with a major scientific base, and the Northern State Medical University, involved both in training and in extensive scientific activities, including those in medicines' technologies."

Among main priorities in cooperation with the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences are issues of forest reproduction on a genetic breeding basis and the detection of environmental pollution with microplastics, the governor noted.

The new agreement provides for development of joint scientific and technical projects, participation in competitions for grants, scientific information exchange, as well as implementation of educational programs, training, and the option to create joint laboratories, competence centers and basic departments.