MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. The space industry development contributes to solving any task, including bolstering the country’s defense capabilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting in the Kremlin with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, and the two cosmonauts who have recently returned to Earth from the ISS - Russia’s Oleg Novitsky and Belarus’ Marina Vasilevskaya.

"Nowadays, it is impossible to effectively solve any tasks on Earth without outer space. Among them are the strengthening of defense capabilities, the advanced new materials, medicines, logistics and transportation. Generally speaking, space technologies can be applied everywhere, wherever you point your finger," Putin said.

According to the president, it is an important topic, and therefore Russia focuses and will be focusing its attention on it.

"We have a program [to develop the space sector] in Russia until 2030 and to further it until 2036. We constantly work on this. It is clear that money is always short, but still there is movement," he concluded.

In addition, Putin addressed the cosmonauts, congratulating them and the entire space industry on the Cosmonautics Day, which is marked on April 12.