MINSK, 28 June (BelTA) - Belarus has the potential to set up more than 30 clusters, Dmitry Krupsky, head of the Innovation Economy Department at the Economy Ministry, said when commenting on the regional cluster development review conducted by regional administration and Minsk City Hall in 2021, BelTA learned from the press service of the department.

For the past nine years the Economy Ministry has been conducting organizational, practical, information and explanatory work on the cluster development model. "The program 2025 provides for setting up 13 clusters in the regions and the city of Minsk: three clusters in Minsk and Vitebsk Oblast each, two - in Brest Oblast and Mogilev Oblast each, one - in Gomel Oblast, Grodno Oblast and Minsk Oblast each,” Dmitry Krupsky noted. “However, the review conducted by the Economy Ministry shows that Belarus has the potential for 32 clusters: 8 current, 6 emerging and 18 potential. There are already clusters in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, petrochemistry, instrumentation and electrical engineering, and IT. Among those emerging, we associate great hopes with projects for smart production technologies, in mechanical engineering, woodworking and furniture production. Of the potential business ideas, I would like to highlight interesting cluster initiatives in construction and agro-ecotourism. It is very important that they are not concentrated in one place but are widely spread across all regions."

According to Dmitry Krupsky, the key factor that can drive new clusters forward is the business community, its ability to self-organize and interact constructively with government agencies.

"Both the international experience and our practice show that the success of any cluster is based on trust between its participants and willingness to cooperate, which implies a rather long period. However, the efforts to pool together business potential within the cluster pays off handsomely, because it dramatically increases the resilience to market challenges," the department head said.

The Economy Ministry systematized the information about the opportunities for cluster development and visualized them on the map of clusters in Belarus. It is a compass that enables business and government agencies to navigate the cluster landscape of Belarus and to cooperate most effectively, concentrating efforts on the development of specific clusters. Thus, this cooperation can generate the best synergy effect.

belta.by