Meeting of the Expert Advisory Council on the Forest Complex

On November 15, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a meeting of the Expert Advisory Council on the Forestry Complex under the relevant State Duma Committee. The discussion brought together more than 50 participants, including representatives of government, science and business. The Russian Forest Association was represented at the meeting by its First Vice President and Council Member Andrey Goncharov.

The central topic of the meeting was issues related to the technological sovereignty of the forestry complex. In the context of declining imports, it is necessary not only to support rational use of natural resources, but also to actively develop domestic technologies and equipment for logging. The meeting participants discussed the prospects for the development of domestic equipment and emphasized the importance of involving businesses in this process. Representatives of universities also spoke about new educational programs aimed at training specialists for the industry.

Andrey Goncharov, First Vice President of the Russian Timber Association: “It is necessary to formulate a technical assignment, that is, to determine the need for a list of machinery and equipment for the forest industry complex. The customer of such research may be the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia represented by the relevant department. Based on the specified technical assignment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia will be able to formulate a corresponding program in accordance with which it will be possible to implement projects for import substitution of such machinery and equipment, taking into account the best practices already existing in the country.”

It is important that both the state and business participate in the financing of research and development (R&D) work. Such a unification of efforts will ensure the high-quality development of domestic technologies.

This week, the Russian Government expanded the list of priority areas of technological sovereignty, including, in particular, investment projects related to the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2035 and the development of equipment for the forestry industry.