Russia, India agree on joint biotechnology projects.

12/2 Tass 322

MOSCOW, February 12 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and India have agreed on
joint projects on biotechnologies, which will be implemented with the use
of unique developments of the two countries.

"To look into the projects in detail, Indian experts on the
biotechnology industry and representatives from the Federation of Asian
Biotech Associations (FABA) will arrive in Moscow for the second
congress-exhibition EurasiaBio-2010," Yevgeniya Novosad, spokeswoman for
the Society of Russian Biotechnologists (SRB), told Tass.
Joint Russian-Indian projects envisage the setting up in Russia of a
Russian-Indian scientific and educational centre for biotechnologies and
pharmaceutics, a business incubator on agro-biotechnology, the production
of vaccines on the basis of Russian technologies as well as a project for
the use of stem cells in ophthalmology on the basis of a unique Indian
development having no analogues in the world.
According to the president of SRB, Raif Vasilov, "agreements on
Russian-Indian projects were reached at the second international forum
BioAsia-2010", which was held in India at the beginning of February.
"Although the Russian delegation participated in that forum for the first
time, our exposition was recognized as one of the best," he said.
"India has developed most efficient models of the innovation system,
ensuring transmission of technologies, the development of venture business
and has made a leap in the development of biotechnologies," Vasilov
believes.
Unlike Russia, India solves with the help of biotechnologies social
and economic problems, including to ensure the population with Indian
medicines and food.
Work on joint projects will continue in Moscow, where the second
international forum EurasiaBio-2010 will be held on April 12-15. According
to Vasilov, "Russian experts have two months to work on these projects in
detail".
"Russia and India can become strategic partners on the biotechnology
industry. Successful history of friendly and productive relations between
our countries testifies to that," he stressed.
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