The center of innovative technologies, which is currently being built in Skolkvo, a place near Moscow, will most likely host the summit of the G8 in 2014.
President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Russian government to start preparations for this summit.
The J8 is a non-official forum which unites the world’s most economically advanced democratic powers. Two years from now, Russia will be the chairing country in this forum, and a tradition exists that it is in the chairing country that the G8 summit usually takes place.
The Russian government believes that it will be logical to hold this summit in Skolkovo, this ‘town of scientists’. President Medevedev, who was the main initiator of creating a center of innovate technologies in Skolkovo, fully supports this idea.
“It will be a good chance to show Russia’s latest achievements in science to the world,” Mr. Medvedev says. “I hope that the construction of the Skolkovo center will be over before the start of the summit. I can confirm that it is being built at a very high rate.”
The decision to create a center of innovative technologies in Skolkovo was taken in the spring of 2010. It is planned that Skolkovo will turn into a big settlement of scientists with living accommodation, streets, schools – and, of course, all kinds of scientific centers and laboratories.
The five priority branches in which the Skolkovo scientists will work are biomedicine, IT, space technologies, energy-saving technologies and nuclear technologies.
About 400 companies have already expressed a wish to take part in the Skolkovo project. Such giants as the US Intel, Cisco and Boeing, the Finnish Nokia and the Dutch Phillips have already signed relevant documents that they will invest in the Skolkovo projects. In total, their investments will make many billions of dollars.
Besides, a university of innovative technologies will be opened in Skolkovo. About 2,000 students will study there. The lectures will be read by the world’s leading professors.
Vice President of the Skolkovo Foundation Seda Pumyanskaya says:
“Skolkovo is an international project, not only a Russian one. At present, it is one of the most rapidly developing projects in Russia. I am glad that the G8 summit will be held in Skolkovo – it will be a good chance to show the world what Russia is capable of.”
The last time that Russia hosted a summit of the G8 was in 2006. That time, the summit took place in Strelnya, a place near St. Petersburg.
Strelnya is known for a palace with a beautiful park, which used to be a summer residence of the Russian tsars. It was built in the early 18th century, under Emperor Peter the Great.
Before the summit of 2006, the palace, the park and the park’s system of chanals were reconstructed, and the foreign guests were able to see them in their full beauty.
It is good, without doubt, that the world has a chance to be convinced that Russia has had a glorious past, but it would be also good for the world to be sure that Russia’s future will be no less glorious.
Let us hope that the Skolkovo center of innovative technologies will do work much for Russia’s glory. The center’s initiators have an ambitious dream that it will help Russia to become one of the world’s leaders in innovative technologies as soon as within the next 5 to 7 years.
Source: The Voice of Russia