Medvedev to open 2nd int'l nanotech forum in Moscow

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MOSCOW, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - President Dmitry Medvedev will open
the 2nd international forum on nano-scale technologies here on Tuesday.
Leading scientists and businessmen from 36 countries will take part in the
forum, a Kremlin press service official has told Itar-Tass.
During a meeting with ROSNANO State Corporation chief Anatoly Chubais
earlier, Medvedev reaffirmed that the Russian State, notwithstanding
economic difficulties, would not give up developing nanotechologies and
would support small and medium-sized businesses engaged in this sector.
"Even in the light of the downturn we shall engage in developing
nanotechnologies, not in reducing investments in this sphere," the
President emphasized.
More than 300 Russian and foreign companies from 17 countries will
present their projects at an innovative products exhibition that is to be
held within the scope of the forum in Moscow from October 6 to 8.
A ROSNANO press service official has told Itar-Tass, "The exhibition
will be dedicated to the applied aspects of the uses of nanotechnologies
and will make it possible to feature the already existing specimens of
nanomaterials and the newest products in the field of nanotechnologies and
nanoindustry equipment".
The major display, arranged at the exhibition by the ROSNANO
Corporation, already includes innovation projects that have already been
accepted for implementation in such areas as solar power engineering and
energy-saving, nano-structured materials, medicine and biotechnology,
engineering and metalworking, optoelectronics and nanoelectronics, as well
as infrastructure projects.
Apart from a plenary session, a panel discussion on the theme of
"Nanotechnologies and Business. Uplift Conditions" and the work of various
business, science and technology panels, a ceremony will be also held to
present ROSNANO-instituted international prizes in the field of
nanontechnologies, the RUSNANOPRIZE-2009, and a Russian youth prize.

.Belarus, Sverdlovsk region to sign partnership accord.

YEKATERINBURG, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - The Republic of Belarus and the
Sverdlovsk Region of the Russian Federation (RF) are to sign an agreement
on the results of the republic's delegation to the Urals here on Tuesday.
An official at the region governor's information department has told
Itar-Tass that the agreement is to reflect matters aimed at furrher
developing partnership between the governments of the Sverdlovsk Region
and the Republic of Belarus within a period from 2010 to 2012. The
document is to be signed by Vladimir Semashko, First Deputy Prime Minister
of Belarus, and Viktor Koksharov, head of the Sverdlovsk Region government.
A National Exhibition of the Republic of Belarus opened here on
October 5, with over 100 enterprises participating. During the visit,
Semashko suggested that the region purchase farm machinery that is on
show at the exhibition. "Our machinery can raise crops' yield many times
over," Semashko ponited out.
The Belarussian delegation, for its part, expressed interest in
purchasing walking excavatos made in the Urals, and in concluding direct
contracts for the supply of asbestos.
Belarus also explores the possibility of participation of the
republic's enterprises in implementing the "Industrial Urals -- Polar
Urals" project.This was discussed, in particular, during a meeting between
Vladimir Semashko and Nikolai Vinnichenko, RF presidential plenipotentiary
representative in the Ural Federal District.

.Putin to discuss Fed property privatisation orientations.

MOSCOW, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is to
confer with government officials here on Tuesday about basic orientations
for the privatisation of Federal property in the period of 2010 to 2012
and a shortening of the list of strategic enterprises and joint-sctock
companies, the Russian government press service announced.
Taking part in the meeting will be First Vice-Premier Igor Shuvalov,
Vice-Premiers Sergei Sobyanin and Sergei Ivanov, the heads of respective
ministries and agencies, as well as Yuri Petrov, Director of the Federal
Agency for the Management of State Property.
The press service data have it that "It is planned to privatise about
250 Federal state unitary enterprises, the privatisation procedures for
which have been launched in 2009. It is also planned to privatise
businesses that are to be struck off the the list of strategic
enterprises in line with the decisions of the President of the Russian
Federation so as to form vertically integrated entities".
It is also being suggested to privatise the Federally-owned blocks of
shares of 462 joint-stock companies that are notable for the following
criteria: deterioration of the financial state of the enterprise, the
State having a share that does not enable it to make decisions in the
interests of the RF, and the investment attractiveness of joint-stock
companies that have a relatively high market value.
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