Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday called Skolkovo “the standard bearer for creating a high-tech sector” in Russia.
Asked in a live television interview about the fate of a project he began as president in 2010, Medvedev noted: “All is fine. Skolkovo lives and is developing.”
Skolkovo was created to help initiate the development of a high-tech innovation sector in the Russian economy to alleviate its dependence on natural resources.
Medvedev said Skolkovo was the flagship project in a nationwide drive to boost small business via various development institutes.
Since Skolovo’s inception, more than 1,000 companies have become residents, and more than 100 are already physically located at the Skolkovo Innovation Center that’s under construction just West of Moscow.
Medvedev noted that this year alone, those firms have generated 20 billion rubles ($367 million) in revenue.
He made special mention of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, which has been operating since 2012 and is due to open its doors at the new campus next year.
Medvedev heads the Skolkovo board of trustees.