The main objective of the innovative development of the Region consists in solving the problems of technical retrofitting of the production facilities, improvement of the efficiency of operation of the industrial and agrarian sectors of the economy as well as restoration of the leading role of the region in providing the country with food.

The introduction of state-of-the art processes, increase of the yield of main the agricultural crops and livestock sector, development of the health-care objects, firstly, in rural locality are determined as priorities of the innovative development.

In the last years, the economy of Minsk Region displays the sustainable development rate. The dynamics of financing in the investment activities has increased in all major branches of the region. The largest share of the investments relates to the industry, agriculture, transport and residential construction. The rate of increase of the investments in the fixed capital was 104.5 per cent in 2002, 112 per cent in 2003, 134.2 per cent in 2004 and 141.5 per cent in 2005.

Since year 2005 the rise in the volumes of financing the innovative activities in the Region. In 2005, the amount of 1,012.8 million roubles from the funds of the Innovation Foundation of the Regional Executive Committee and own funds of the regional organizations was assigned for financing the scientific and innovative activities. In 2006, it is planned to attract 1,105 million roubles for this purpose and in 2007 – 1,213 million roubles.

Minsk Region has no scientific-and-research organizations of regional subordination; however, it has considerable potential of academic, university and branch-oriented sectors of science located in the city of Minsk and Minsk Region.

The scientific-and-technical and the innovative activities of the Region within the years 2001-2005 were carried out within the framework of implementation of the Regional Scientific and Technical Programme “Energy- and Resource-Saving in the Agricultural Sector of Minsk Region”, Complex Programme of Scientific Support of the Branches of Development of the Information Service of Commodity Producers of the Minsk Region and implementation of the measures financed from the funds of the Innovation Foundation of the Regional Executive Committee.

The works within the RSTP within the years 2001 – 2005 were oriented mainly to reducing the process costs of the Region’s enterprises on the basis of introduction of new energy- and resource-saving technologies.

Within the framework of implementation of the Complex Programme of Scientific Support of the branches of development of information servicing of commodity producers of Minsk Region, the Regional Executive Committee exercised the interaction with the scientific institutions of agrarian profile. For the years 2001-2005, the volume of investments in the agrarian science amounted to 995.2 million roubles.

For the past five-year period the introduction of the science and technology achievements has allowed the Region to increase the production of the main kinds of agricultural products in the public sector: grain 1.4 times, sugar beet 2.1 times, flax fibre 1.4 times, rape 2 times, milk 1.9 times and meat (growing) 1.5 times.

In 2006, the works for implementation 16 scientific and innovation measures in the Region are performed. For financing them, it is planned to assign 795.0 million roubles from the funds of the Innovation Foundation of the Regional Executive Committee and in 2007 for the above purpose it is planned to assign at least 858.0 million roubles from the said funds.

For the purpose of scientific support of the development of the innovative activities in Minsk Region, the Regional Executive Committee has developed the conception of the Regional Scientific and Technical Programme “Development of the Minsk Region for the years 2006-2010”. The objective of the Programme consists in increasing of efficiency of the agricultural and industrial production on the basis of the development and introduction of resource-saving technologies as well as provision and improvement of necessary amenities in rural settlements of Minsk Region in accordance with the State Programme for Rebirth and Development of the Village for the Years 2005-2010.

It is planned to provide the financing of the Programme at the cost of the Republican Budget’s funds, funds of the Innovative Foundation of the Regional Executive Committee and own funds of the enterprises planning to adopt the results of the scientific and technical development.

For the purpose of introducing the results of R&D works into the production, creating the favourable conditions for intensifying the innovative activities in Minsk region and attracting investments in high-technology production facilities, the Regional Executive Committee has created Minsk Regional Innovative Centre Unitary Utility Enterprise.

The innovative policy of Minsk Region in 2006-2010 will be aimed at securing the positive tendencies which have formed in the Region’s economy and ensuring the steady economic growth at the cost of further intensification of innovative processes.

The main objective for years 2007-2010 consists in stimulating the attraction of investments into efficient and competitive production and kinds of activities, ensuring the progressive development of the Minsk Region’s and improvement of the competitiveness of the production. This objective will be attained by:

• mobilization of investment resources at the cost of providing the state support in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Local Government and Self-Government”;
• concentration of investments on the directions being priority for the Region that is pre-requisite for rise in their efficiency;
• expansion of the financial and economic base for the innovative activities at the cost of involving the banking sector, funds of the republican and local budgets and own funds of the organizations adopting the results of the R&D works and funds of foreign investors in the innovative process;
• taking the investment opportunities provided by the local budget to fuller extent;
• further formation of the image of Minsk Region by participation on exhibitions, conferences and preparation of presentations.

The long-term plan of innovative development of Minsk Region for the years 2007-2010 has been formed with the account of the following principles ensuring the rational and efficient use of the regional budget’s funds:

• optimization of the obligations (refusal of investment of the objects not complying with the long-term objectives of development of Minsk Region);
• including the objects, the construction and modernization of which is of the regional significance in the long-term plan of the innovative development;
• ensuring the maximum scientific-and-technical and socioeconomic efficiency of consumption of the regional budget’s funds for the investment purposes.

The priority lines of the innovative development of Minsk Region include:

• technical upgrade of the facilities, mainly on the basis of the results of domestic R&D works;
• introduction of the world standards of the production quality of environment protection, and new import-substituting technologies on the basis of the own raw-materials base;
• application of the adaptive resource- and energy-saving as well as ecologically safe technologies of production, processing and storage of agricultural products;
• zoning the high-yielding varieties of grain and leguminous crops, potato, grasses, new and transgenic agricultural crops;
• development of small-energetic objects consuming alternative or renewable energy sources, as well as those consuming local kinds of fuel;
• involving local raw material resources in the economic turnover, complex processing and recycling of the industrial and domestic waste;
• technologies of production of modern building materials and construction of dwelling with high level of convenience in the rural locality;
• ecology and efficient nature management.

The long-term plan of the innovative development of Minsk Region for the years 2007-2010 includes the measures for creating the 20 new high-technology facilities and modernization of 19 operating facilities on the basis of introduction of the advanced technologies and applying them to manufacture of new kinds of products.

The production of the parts of tractor ploughs with improved operating characteristics will be launched with the use of domestic technologies at Minsk Gears Plant Republican Unitary Enterprise. New equipment for livestock farms (local circulation plants, mobile modules for machine milking, milk-cooling plants, etc.) will be manufactured by Agropromenergo Open Joint-Stock Company, Lyuban District Agricultural Service Open Joint-Stock Company, Stolbtsy District Agricultural Service Open Joint-Stock Company and Starye Dorogi District Agricultural Service Open Joint-Stock Company.

At the processing-sector enterprises (Stolbtsy Fruit and Vegetable Processing Factory Unitary Enterprise of Minsk Region, Slutsk Vinegar Plant Joint Open Joint-Stock Company, Kopyl Butter- and Cheese-Making Factory Open Joint-Stock Company, Berezina Cheese-Making Factory Open Joint-Stock Company), it is planned to adopt the advanced technologies for production of fruit juices and lactoserum and at Zhilyo Unitary Enterprise (town of Borisov) – to organize the production of pre-insulated pipes for municipal economy.

The most important projects for modernization of the operating production facilities in the Region on the basis of introduction of advanced technologies are:

• Modernization of the lines for production of canned fruit and vegetables and fruit juices at Borisov Canning Factory Unitary Enterprise of the Minsk Region, Stolbtsy Fruit and Vegetable Processing Factory Unitary Enterprise of the Minsk Region and Ilovskoye Unitary Enterprise of the Minsk Region;
• Organization of production of new building materials and road pavements at Minskoblselstroi Unitary Enterprise, Minskobldorstroi Unitary Utility Enterprise;
• Modernization of processing-sector enterprises and organization of new kinds of products at them (Volozhin Butter-Making Factory Open Joint-Stock Company, Kletsk Butter-Making Factory Open Joint-Stock Company, etc.);
• Modernization of small-scale hydroelectric power plants in Dubrova and Soligorsk.

For the purpose of ensuring the development of the scientific and innovative activities, the Regional Executive Committee forms the system of interrelated financial institutions: funds of the republican and local budgets, funds of the innovative foundations and own funds of the organizations implementing the innovative projects.

The main place in the structure of the regional budget’s funds will be occupied by the investments from the funds of the Innovation Foundation of the Regional Executive Committee; moreover, the funds of the Innovation Foundation will be assigned on both repayable and non-repayable basis.

The implementation of the measures of the long-term plan of the innovative development of Minsk Region for the years 2007-2010 will contribute to achievement of the most important parameters of social and economic development of the region, sustainable development of the national-economy complex, make it possible to increase the labour productivity and to reduce the consumption of the material and energy resources.

All these conditions and opportunities as well as coordinated activities aimed at the formation of the favourable innovative climate in the region will make it possible to improve the competitiveness of the output products in the international market, create additional workplaces, expand the export base of the import-substituting products as well as carry out the modernization and reconstruction of the enterprises.

The total amount of financing of the works for creating the of new facilities at the operating enterprises and modernization of the operating facilities in the years 2007-2010 will be 55,645.1 million roubles, including that from the Republican Budget’s funds to the amount of 3,208.0 million roubles, from the local budget – to the amount of 8,090.2 million roubles, at the cost of bank credits – 39,863.9 million roubles and from other sources – 4483,0 million roubles.