Russia to sign memo with WEF on establishing Center for 4th Industrial Revolution

Business & Economy September 03, 2021, 18:45

According to the governmental order, the affiliated center will be an autonomous non-profit organization functioning as a platform for public-private cooperation

MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. The Russian government has accepted the proposal of the Economic Development Ministry to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the World Economic Forum (WEF) on establishing an affiliated Center for the 4th Industrial Revolution in Russia. This is according to the governmental order published on the portal of official legal information on Friday.

"[The Cabinet hereby rules to] accept the proposal of the Russian Economic Development Ministry that was also approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and other interested federal executive bodies, to sign a memorandum of cooperation between the government of the Russian Federation and the World Economic Forum on the creation and functioning of the affiliated center for the 4th Industrial Revolution," the document says.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko was instructed to sign a memorandum on behalf of the government.

According to the document, the affiliated center will be an autonomous non-profit organization functioning as a platform for public-private cooperation and a member of the Global Council for the fourth industrial revolution. At the same time, it is emphasized that the future affiliated center will not belong to the WEF and won’t be managed by it.

In February, Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko met with the President of the WEF Borge Brende. The deputy prime minister's office clarified that the parties had discussed the opportunity to create an affiliated center for the 4th Industrial Revolution in Russia. Earlier there were plans to open such a center at the platform of Sberbank.

Together with other centers in more than 10 countries of the world, the Russian center will develop approaches to normative regulation and ethics in innovative sectors of the economy, share advanced solutions in the technological sphere, a representative of Chernyshenko’s office explained.

According to the WEF website, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is "a hub for global, multistakeholder co-operation to accelerate the benefits of science and technology. With Centres in 14 countries around the world, the C4IR Network is working with government, business, academia and civil society to develop, prototype and test pioneering collaborations and governance models to ensure the benefits of technology are maximized, and the risks accounted for".

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