Russian companies should use domestic innovations - PM Mishustin

NOVOSIBIRSK. July 24 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has called on Russian companies to make more use of domestic innovative solutions.

"It is difficult for us to rival, to compete right away with the world's best similar products. Therefore, we need to act gradually and carefully to ensure that [Russian companies] start using domestic solutions, which cannot be the world's best for now. And we can compensate up to 50% of the expenses on Russian equipment from the Industry and Trade Ministry register," Mishustin said during a visit to the technology park in Novosibirsk's Akademgorodok on Wednesday.

These sums are currently not large - up to 20 million rubles, Mishustin said. "But I am certain we will come up with new tools as this field continues to develop," he said.

He also spoke about the opportunities of an industrial mortgage program and a cluster investment platform. All of them are instruments for achieving Russia's industrial and technological sovereignty, he said. "We need to keep the added value of high technology products in our country," he said.

Mishustin also mentioned other opportunities for supporting the technology park at the regional level.

"We understand that there are a lot of requests to reduce the costs of managing this process. And the more residents there are, the more competencies are present there, and, consequently, the more questions emerge. A great deal has been done now to enable you to use these instruments, including compensation for infrastructure expenses directly through regional budget subsidies. This has been done," he said.

It is also possible to use low-interest loans from the Regional Industry Development Fund, Mishustin said.

"We increased its capital as much as we could. There is the macroeconomic situation. We had money [to add to this fund]. For instance, this fund totals 1 billion rubles in the Novosibirsk region. It will receive a further 30 million rubles before the end of the year for subsidies, to cut the interest rate," he said.

"This is also an element of the country's technology policy," Mishustin said.