Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
In the wake of the historic visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Russian Federation, Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation and Pakistan’s Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to boost cooperation in the technology sector.
The cooperation will establish closer business relations and foster strategic ties and exchanges between the Russian and Pakistani scientific and technological institutions and enterprises, said a statement Friday.
The LOI was signed between Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board, Skolkovo Foundation and Mr. Amer Ahmed Hashmi, Chairman, Special Technology Zones Authority and was witnessed by the Prime Minister.
The Skolkovo Foundation is a non-commercial organization, founded in Moscow, in 2010.
The goal of the Foundation is to support technological entrepreneurship in Russia and to commercialize the results of scientific research activities.
The number of Skolkovo residents already exceeds 3,200 and the Foundation provides them with an array of services that are necessary to roll out developments into international markets. Located at Skolkovo Innovation Center is the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), which is listed in the Nature Index “Top-100 Young Universities” list.
The Skolkovo – STZA collaboration is the latest addition to STZA’s portfolio of strategic partnerships, intended to collaborate on opening new doors for the leading Russian technology companies and organizations seeking to operate in Pakistan’s Special Technology Zones. STZA was enacted in 2021 with a national mandate of creating technological ecosystems across the country and offers access to wide-ranging fiscal and forex incentives, regulatory support, highly trained human capital, and soft landing through its one window framework to support the growth of enterprises in the zones.
