Cuban academician praises Belarus' approach to scientific research

MINSK, 21 September (BelTA) – Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba Carlos de Jesus Rodriguez Castellanos praised Belarus' approach to scientific research while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the session of the Council of the International Association of Academies of Sciences (IAAS), BelTA has learned.

The Academy of Sciences of Cuba intends to join the International Association of Academies of Sciences. “The IAAS is an excellent platform for stepping up cooperation with all the colleagues, including with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. We are very satisfied, are ready to work and be friends with all the academies of the association,” Carlos de Jesus Rodriguez Castellanos said.

In his words, cooperation of Cuban scientists with Belarus develops in various areas, for instance, in agriculture, healthcare, and biotechnologies. “We maintain broad cooperation. We have 26 projects in all fields, including in physics, chemistry, and informatics. There is a huge potential. We very much like Belarus' approach to science, which tightly combines fundamental research and practice. Cuba is a small country, too. This approach is important for Cuba. And we can learn from you,” the vice president of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba said.

The session of the Council of the International Association of Academies of Sciences is dedicated to the 30th anniversary since the association was founded. Top officials of the national academies of sciences of Belarus, Russia, three provinces of China, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Vietnam, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries are taking part in it. Heads of leading research centers also participate in the work of the IAAS Council. Those include Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia's Kurchatov Institute, the Russian Academy of Education, and other ones.

Participants of the session are expected to look into a number of important matters such as main results of the IAAS' work, the operation of scientific councils, and the creation of new ones, the admission of a new member to the IAAS. The heads of the academies of sciences are looking into future mutually beneficial cooperation in key avenues of development of modern science.

The International Association of Academies of Sciences (IAAS) unites academies of sciences of the CIS states and other countries, universities, and major research centers. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has been the basic academy of sciences to provide organizational and instructional support for the IAAS since 2017. Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov is the head of the International Association of Academies of Sciences. The IAAS Council is the supreme governing body. The association includes 26 scientific councils focusing on various areas of science. Leading scientists in biology, virology, geology, history, and science studies of the CIS states, China, and other countries sit on the councils.