Russia’s Concept for International Scientific and Technical Cooperation (2025)

Russia’s Concept for International Scientific and Technical Cooperation

2 June 2025

Executive order No. 1218-r of May 16, 2025

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed the executive order approving Russia’s Concept for International Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which sets goals of expanding and deepening cooperation with friendly and neutral states, prioritising the implementation of Russia’s national interests, and ensuring the country’s international leadership in various areas of the global scientific and technological development agenda, among others.

The document states that Russia aims to create favourable and maximally attractive conditions for effective and fruitful scientific work by Russian and foreign scientists in the interest of the national science. It includes measures to ensure technological sovereignty, create conditions for sustainable development of the Russian economy on a new technological basis, and observe the principles of equality and mutual benefit.

Creating a comfortable environment for international cooperation requires developing advanced research and technological infrastructure. In this regard, unique mega-science scientific facilities will become a priority for such work. Conditions for their successful operation will be created through joint efforts by scientific institutions, the state, and business.

Today, cooperation between research institutions from different countries is essential for implementing large-scale scientific projects. Therefore, the concept implies expanding the geography of cooperation to include scientists from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. This extensive work will require holding scientific and educational competitions, intensifying scientific exchanges, and increasing the academic mobility of scientists.

Russia also plans to make extensive efforts to boost international scientific and technical cooperation through interaction with major international organisations, including UN agencies (UNESCO, UNIDO, IAEA, WHO, and others), as well as BRICS, the G20, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and other global governance institutions.

The development of these ties should eventually lead to the formation of a single scientific and technological space. Achieving this goal on a CIS scale is another objective of the concept. To this end, a coordinated policy must be pursued to advance priority areas of science and technology development and unite the scientific potential of the Commonwealth states.

Commenting on the document adopted at the meeting with deputy prime ministers on June 2, Mikhail Mishustin noted the necessity for maintaining dialogue between countries and the scientific community, business, and civic institutions.

”This is essential for coordinating and disseminating best practices in international scientific and technical cooperation,“ the Prime Minister stressed.

The concept of international scientific and technical cooperation has been developed based on Russia’s Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development.

Source: Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation