International scientific seminar "Small and medium-sized innovative companies in the SCO: policy and measures of government support"

The International Scientific Seminar "Small and Medium-Sized Innovative Companies in the SCO: Policy and Measures of Governmental Support" took place in Moscow on June 17, 2014 in the framework of preparation for the transfer of chairmanship in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the Russian Federation.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the UN Development Programme and the Russian Foreign Trade Academy. The ACIG Group of Companies was the operator of the event.

The main objectives of the seminar were identifying the existing barriers to the development of small and medium-sized innovative business in the SCO countries, analyzing the recent trends and giving recommendations regarding the work of innovative small and medium-sized companies.

"Against the overall background of the Russia’s foreign trade last year, we have sustainable growth – about 3% of the turnover with the SCO member states. This trend continues in January-April 2014," – the Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexey Likhachev said at the opening of the seminar. – "But extensive levers and opportunities for trade development are being exhausted, the post-crisis period is coming to its smooth phase, a sharp increase in turnover is ending, and we need to seek additional sources to develop the exchange of goods, services and investments. In this sense, small and medium-sized innovative companies play the key role."

According to the Ministry, the share of population employed in small and medium-sized businesses is significantly higher in the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization than in the Russian Federation. Only in Uzbekistan this indicator has reached 76%, while in Russia it is at the 25% level.

"This is the challenge we need to address. Together we should search for the ways of governmental support and, which is more important, cooperation at our common platforms, in order to make the environment for innovation business comfortable for all the participants."

The United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative in Tajikistan Alexander Zuev underlined the importance of sharing the experience of small and medium-sized innovative business development in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He also noted that the UNDP develops a special approach – inclusive innovations, involving provision of high-efficiency products and services at a low price to people whose needs are usually ignored. For example, in the field of healthcare these are low-cost diagnostics, technologies and mobile clinics; in education – various forms of distance learning; in financial services – online and mobile banking. Implementation of the inclusive innovation approach has great potential for the development of small and medium-sized innovative companies in all the SCO countries.

A series of joint expertseminars on the acute issues of the SCOis held within the framework of expandingpartnership between theUNDPand the Russian Federation.