Mishustin urged not to count on a return to industrial policy based on imports

There will be no return to the previous models of work – based on the import of foreign technologies. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin made such a statement at the 13th Innoprom International Industrial Exhibition in Yekaterinburg. To do this, it is necessary to reduce the impact of unfavorable external conditions and achieve full-fledged technological sovereignty in all critical industries.

“Our future lies in the production of the entire range of our own high-tech products, and they must be competitive not only within the country, but also abroad,” Mishustin stressed.

Every sector of the industry, from the automotive industry to power engineering, must be as resistant to sanctions as possible, Mishustin said. “The main guidelines for the further work of enterprises are the extremely deep localization of industrial products, the saturation of domestic demand, the increase in exports of value-added products,” the prime minister said.

Foreign partners, despite the sanctions, are interested in continuing to work with Russia, the prime minister said. “We see that interest in the Russian economy is not only preserved, but also growing. Despite all the attempts of our opponents to cut us off from global production chains, logistics routes and financial settlement systems,” Mishustin said.

Reproduction of key technologies in industry in general or individual sectors in particular is extremely difficult, says Vladimir Salnikov, head of the Laboratory for Analysis and Forecasting Industrial Development. Now no country has a complete set of competencies, he recalled. The automotive industry, namely the production of cars, suffered the most from the break in technological chains, he added. However, apart from the automotive industry, there are no sharp failures in any sector, Salnikov believes. “We are seeing an almost frontal increase in production,” he recalled.

We are not talking about a complete rejection of imported technologies, says Alexander Shirov, director of the INP RAS. A certain amount of imported equipment is required, a balance between the need for foreign technologies and the desire for technological independence, the expert explained.

There are areas, such as microelectronics, where Russia is far behind, but such issues are not quickly resolved even with large state investments, he added. Science and technology policy is long-term, so quick results are not always possible. The horizon for the implementation of the tasks set can reach 10-20 years.

In May 2023, the government for the first time adopted the Concept of Technological Development, calculated until 2030. According to the document, by this time Russia should create its own base of critical and end-to-end technologies. Chips, high-precision machine tools, robotics, drones, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, telecommunications equipment, software and aerospace equipment – the share of all such domestic products in total consumption must be at least 75%.