Skolkovo is taking on its final shape as an innovation city, its president Victor Vekselberg said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.
Skolkovo Foundation president Victor Vekselberg spoke to Rossia-24 during the World Economic Forum.
“We’re steadily implementing plans for the Skolkovo project,” Vekselberg told the Rossia-24 TV channel from the forum in the Swiss Alps.
“We launched the biggest technopark in Europe last year, and today its operations are in full swing. The project will take on the final contours of an innovation city in the near future. The first city residents are moving in this year, and we’re pleased that we’re implementing this project in accordance with its plan,” he said.
Vekselberg, a prominent businessman who was appointed to oversee the creation of the Skolkovo innovation centre when it was set up at the initiative of Russia’s then-president Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, said Davos was a “unique and highly effective place for business communication” that enabled attendees to hold dozens of meetings with current and potential partners.
He said he was holding meetings at the forum in connection with both the Skolkovo Foundation and the Renova Group conglomerate headed by Vekselberg, and that Indian and Chinese partners were particularly interested in developing relations. China is becoming increasingly open for partnerships, said Vekselberg.
Noting that Renova is actively implementing alternative energy projects, Vekselberg said the topic was the subject of much discussion at Davos, and that at the speed at which the field is developing, it could soon be a competitive alternative to traditional energy sources such as oil and gas.
“Interest in such projects is extremely high, and I think Russia will also gradually take up its place, primarily in terms of technology,” he said. The Skolkovo Foundation is home to more than 40 startups working on alternative energy technology.
Vekselberg also expressed hope in the interview that the incoming U.S. presidential administration would bring an improvement in relations with Russia via a “constructive dialogue.”