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MINSK, 15 June (BelTA) – The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) plans to develop cooperation in the area of nanotechnologies with the Chinese province Heilongjiang. The statement was made by Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov before a meeting with the delegation of the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences led by its President Guo Chunjing on 15 June, BelTA has learned.

“We expect a productive dialogue and good results. We have great prospects for cooperation with China. It is a powerful state, the world’s second largest economy, its science is developing very rapidly. We should be able to start a number of joint projects. Today we are going to talk about cooperation in the area of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. Chinese colleagues are very interested in it. Besides, projects in the area of new materials chemistry, microbiology, laser and space research are possible,” stressed the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

According to Vladimir Gusakov, at present the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is implementing projects worth over $4 million together with China. “I believe it is not sufficient. We should prepare new projects,” he stressed. The official explained that such NASB organizations like the Physics Technology Institute, the Genetics and Cytology Institute, the Microbiology Institute already cooperate with Chinese colleagues. The Fundamental Research Foundation works very actively.

Guo Chunjing, President of the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences, noted that the Chinese delegation was interested in all branches of Belarusian science. “We have wanted to come here for a long time. Cooperation between our academies is already in progress. Concrete results have been achieved in some areas,” he explained. Guo Chunjing stressed that the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences was interested in the organization of regular exchange of information and specialists with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

Vladimir Gusakov stressed: “Today’s meeting is a logical continuation of the top-level agreements reached during the visit of China President Xi Jinping to Belarus. Back then we welcomed the president of the Humanitarian Academy of Sciences of China. Today we welcome a delegation from Heilongjiang Province. We count on productive negotiations.”

The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) maintains vigorous cooperation with scientific institutions of Heilongjiang Province. In 2001 an agreement on cooperation was signed with the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences. A joint chemical technology center for low-tonnage composite materials of the New Materials Chemistry Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Chemical Technologies Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences operates in Heilongjiang Province. Apart from that, in the province there is a joint center for technology transfer with permanent exhibitions, which operation is financed by the Chinese side and is aimed at promoting Belarusian research products on the Chinese market.

A delegation of the Heilongjiang Province Academy of Sciences led by its President Guo Chunjing is in Belarus on 14-17 June on a visit. The Chinese scientists have arrived upon the invitation of the administration of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The key purpose of the visit is to hold negotiations with the NASB to discuss promising avenues of cooperation and mechanisms to implement them. During the visit the Chinese delegation is expected to get familiar with a number of research institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, namely the Microbiology Institute, the Flax Institute (Vitebsk Oblast), the A.V. Lykov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, the materials science research center, and other ones.