Science should contribute to ongoing development of economy, says Kazakh President
The Akorda Presidential Palace is hosting the National Science and Technology Council meeting under the chairmanship of Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazinform News Agency cites Akorda.
During the event, President Tokayev stressed that the government is still facing the task of establishing a new economic model with sustainable value added chains at the core of it. In this regard, oil services and petrochemical sectors (production of plastic, carbon nanotubes, carbon fiber, graphene) hold great potential.
The Head of State noted that despite the measures are taken on industrialization, the national economy continues to be largely dependent on raw materials.
In the Council’s first meeting, I tasked the government to take a set of measures to transit to an open applied model of science with the concentration of resources of research institutes and universities. It is necessary that scientific projects meet not only academic needs but also consider the strategic objectives of the country and economic needs. So, it is necessary to define clear priorities of studies based on the best international practices, said Tokayev.
According to the Head of State, commercializing scientific developments is of special importance.
For instance, scientific studies could be applied to cut costs in the utilities sector and introduce resource-saving technologies as well as to repair and construct roads taking into account our climate. The science of simple things should be actively developed, with the establishment of effective measures of interaction between the scientific community and business, he said. – Authorities need to set up scientific councils to address issues in this area. Major enterprises from all the regions of the country should be engaged in widespread introduction of results of scientific studies.
President Tokayev also brought up the importance of scaling up successful experiences with the participation of all major industrial companies. The government needs to keep up with stimulating business by providing tax benefits and investment preferences for expenditures on science.
According to the Kazakh leader, domestic science faces serious tasks in decarbonizing the economy. Many developed countries actively carry out projects on renewable energy sources and already have the appropriate technological capabilities to transit to carbon-free development and creation of new economic clusters. Domestic scientific developments tailored for the country are needed so as not to lag behind the global trends in the area.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the richness in mineral resources still remains one of the foundations for economic growth of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce advanced technologies in the field of production of natural resources, including hydrocarbons and rare-earth metals. It is necessary to increase the effectiveness of exploration works and open new fields. This requires quality changes in the development of geological science. In general, domestic science needs to be orientated on effective use of our competitive advantages and widespread development of new knowledge-intensive sectors, said President Tokayev.
