Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation who will coordinate the Russian national project of building a R&D complex outside Moscow, met a Nikkei reporter and said that a structural reform based on technological innovation will be the pillar of economic policy under the Putin administration to be launched on May 7. He disclosed a plan to induce high-tech Japanese companies in the nuclear power and other industries to advance into the area.
Vekselberg is a business tycoon close to the administration and serves as chairman of major corporate group Renova. He has led Skolkovo since 2010 following Russian President Medvedev’s decision, and will visit Japan for the first time on April 26-27 as president of the foundation.
Vekselberg said that next president Putin “has strong interest in economic structural reform based on technological innovation.” He brushed aside the concern that, with the present government’s reform policy taking a backseat, Russia may remain dependent on natural resources, saying, “Although the resources will play a key role for the time being, the government has a strategic policy of protecting the production of high-tech products and shifting to the knowledge-intensive economy.”
With reference to the business development of Skolkovo, which it is hoped will be the driving force behind the structural reform, Vekselberg said that Skolkovo will have “a mega techno-park with R&D centers. In two or three years, we will see an ‘innovation town’ with schools and hospitals emerge.” He emphasized that the project was going well, saying that it was agreed that a research and educational institution will be established jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and that major Western companies including Microsoft of the U.S. will advance into the area.
He also said that through the Skolkovo project, “We hope to make our people realize that R&D is very important for economic development.” The brain drain is a serious social problem in Russia. “We hope to make Skolkovo a place where Russian researchers and experts can pursue their dreams and achieve self-realization without going overseas.”
Speaking of cooperation with Japan, he said that “attracting world-leading Japanese companies is very important for the Skolkovo project and development. We will take necessary steps so that we can build close relations with high-tech companies such as Hitachi Ltd. and NEC.” He called on Japanese companies to advance into the new Russian R&D hub. One of the fields where Russia and Japan may cooperate was ensuring the safety of nuclear power generation and developing alternative energy sources, he said.
During his visit Vekselberg will meet people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry and also representatives of the Japan Business Federation. Japanese companies advancing into Skolkovo will be exempt from the corporate tax and eligible for privileges such as access to the infrastructure facilities, he said. He also said, “We will support (Japanese companies) to help them cultivate the Russian market for the products they develop and build cooperative relations with Russian universities and research institutes.” (Yohei Ishikawa reporting from Moscow)
Skolkovo is a project for building the Russian version of Silicon Valley, launched in 2010 under the initiative of President Medvedev who set out to modernize the economy by promoting technological innovation. The project is undertaken by the government- owned Skolkovo Foundation. R&D infrastructure will be built on a 400-hectare lot about 20 kilometers to the west of the city center. Companies were invited to operate here in five business fields – information technology, biotechnology/medicine, energy efficiency, space/communications, and nuclear power. Contracts were made with more than 400 corporations in and outside Russia.