On December 13-14, the Valdai Club is conducting a regional policy-dialogue conference in Singapore. Its topic, "New Institutions for Growth in Asia and Eurasia: What Mission for Russia?" is closely linked to the fact that Russia’s turn to the East has acquired an independent dynamic.
In the high-tech field, there must be less of a focus on the historical prospects and more of a view of the future, Russian Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media Alexey Volin said, opening a special session, organized in partnership with the Russian Venture Company.
According to the deputy minister, the ASEAN countries occupy a leading position in the consumer market. For Asian countries, the most promising fields of cooperation with Russia are in the field of education and medicine, high-tech, film and even computer games. The Russian partners are ready to cooperate with Asian colleagues and welcome the sharing of best practices.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, interim CEO of the Russian Venture Company, drew attention to the fact that some of the technology produced in Russia enters the global market immediately, ahead of competitors. Russia is confidently moving toward global platforms of technology distributions and welcomes interested partners. In particular, the "National Technology Initiative," which promotes innovation in the fields of medicine, foods, smart networks, security and other high-tech fields, is entering markets of a new scale. The project is also progressing in the field of finding markets, talent and scientific and technological innovation.
Valentin Makarov, President of RUSSOFT and head of the Safenet working group talked about cyberphysical systems and security systems that are acquiring a new image. Security in the sector is becoming customized and integrated into each system, creating new products in the areas of unmanned transport, smart energy, smart homes and other innovative technologies. Russia is an alternative to the Western world in providing services in quantum communications, intelligent platform management of cyberphysical systems, protected operating systems for the Internet and new approaches to personal identification.
Chief Strategic and Operating Officer of Acronis Mark Shmulevich talked about the advantages of building a business in Singapore for Russian high-tech companies. Singapore is one of the top countries in the Doing Business Index and has one of the fastest-growing economies by GDP in the world. The main components contributing to growth are human resources, which generate GDP, and high labor productivity. A definite plus is also in Singapore’s political neutrality and the pursuit of economic development without looking back at the events taking place on the global arena.
According to Shmulevich, after establishing an office in Singapore, Acronis went on a fundamentally new level of development. At the moment, Acronis provides 20% of its products to Asian markets (with 40% going to the American market and another 40% to the European market).
The process of business development in Southeast Asia is begins to bear fruit in the long run, but it is undoubtedly a critical investment in the future of the company. It is worth noting that the pitfall of Singapore is the high cost of living in the country, which must be taken into account as one crafts a business development strategy.
SPB TV General Director Kirill Filippov also noted that an important condition for success in the Asian market is the creation of a product that the local consumer can understand and relate to. Considerable importance is attached to design, which requires special development that takes into account the tastes and individuality of Southeast Asian consumers. Russian developers made great progress in mobile, online and IP-television in China. One of the pilot projects was the online video project called “Belt and Road,” which currently carries 11 television channels broadcast from China, as well as video on demand.
According to Filippov, the Asian market is also Interested in Russian intellectual services. A striking example is the television service of Singapore’s leading mobile operator, StarHub. The technological development, on which the service operates was created and supported by the Russian programmers. This product is completely adapted to the StarHub brand. A similar project, called nexGTv, was launched in India. It is the fruit of cooperation between SPB TV and the company DigiVive.
Director of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East at the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Larin said that Singapore is a unique example of business partnership opportunities without regard to the political situation, creating a favorable environment for economic growth.
Concluding the conference, Valdai Club Research Director Fyodor Lukyanov noted the fruitfulness of the working day and the focus of the discussions conducted. He added that the Valdai Club is interested in continuing the series of events aimed at the analysis of interaction between Russia and ASEAN countries.
