Mezentsev: Belarus, Russia are laying foundation for technological independence

“The presidents have set the task to substitute imports in order to create a common foundation for technological independence. This is a good start, and we see that we are making good progress,” Dmitry Mezentsev said.

He listed the main areas of cooperation within the framework of the Union State. “Cooperation in the field of space has a lot of benefits for the real sector of the economy, agriculture, and defense. The two countries are already working on a new joint spacecraft that will have unique characteristics related to remote sensing of the Earth. Aleksandr Lukashenko has recently visited the cosmonaut training center, met with candidates for the space flight. This shows that today the industrial and scientific potential of Belarus allows it to consider itself one of space powers,” Dmitry Mezentsev said.

Speaking about the healthcare system, Dmitry Mezentsev noted that in two or three years a therapeutic vaccine for tuberculosis would be presented to the professional medical community. “Research is also underway on the so-called transdermal drug delivery. This is a novel thing and it is going to benefit millions of patients,” he noted.

“We support the automotive industry. We also pay special attention to ensuring the security of the Union State. It is no coincidence that three out of the four programs that will be implemented this year deal with border security and infrastructure improvement of the joint military task force of the Union State,” Dmitry Mezentsev added.

He also commented on the creation of the media holding of the Union State. “The Union State information security concept is to be approved at the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council. The information security concept will determine how to protect individuals, society and the state from information attacks and negative pressure. Regardless of the form of news reporting in our countries, we must have some foundation of information work for the sake of millions of Belarusians and Russians. This way we will demonstrate our unity, our achievements and we will not be afraid to expose our disagreements. And most importantly, as the president of Belarus said, it should be an independent structure, a product of teamwork of Russian and Belarusian journalists, specialists, directors,” Dmitry Mezentsev added.