The Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the RF (Senate) held an all-Russian meeting “From Raw-Material Economy to the Hi-Tech Economy”.

The meeting organizers outlined the following fundamental facts:

1. Information technologies today are a major branch of international economy with sustainable annual growth. Development and large-scale application of information technologies bears crucial influence on improving the activity of enterprises and organizations throughout almost all branches of economy, as well as on modernizing and increasing efficiency of the main institutes of governmental administration.
2. The President of the Russian Federation defined developing modern infrastructure of the information sector of economy as an important national project. Its implementation will demand efficient partnership and mutual responsibility of science, business and government, development of corresponding legal and organizational mechanisms.
3. Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of the RF drafted a government program “Creation of Technoparks in the sphere of Innovation Technologies in the Russian Federation”. This program provides for development of a network of technoparks in the sphere of information technologies, which will create necessary conditions for training research and technical elite and turning it into a powerful resource for economic growth.

The meeting aimed at acquainting public authorities and regulatory bodies, heads of the subjects of federation and representatives of business press with the most interesting and promising developments of Russian and international companies working in the sphere of information technologies; it also aimed at discussing issues concerning establishment of special economic zones and technoparks and support for innovative enterprises and firms to ensure the leading role of Russian IT sector on the global market.

The meeting followed several main objectives:

• Discussing priorities for public authorities and regulatory bodies, business community and research institutions in reorientation of the Russian economy from fuel-and-power to hi-tech;
• Forging dialogue among representatives of government and business in the sphere of information technologies;
• Discussing issues concerning legislative support to the development of information technologies, implementation of orders of the Russian government and governmental programs on deploying innovation technologies, and creating special economic zones and technoparks;
• Exchanging views on the problems of creating special economic zones and technoparks in Russia.

The meeting was attended by deputies of the State Duma (Partliament) and members of Council of Federation, representatives of administrations of Russian regions, experts from the RF Government Office, heads of ministries and departments, representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, heads of technoparks, developers of the Federal target program “e-Russia”, directors of Russian and international companies.

Yuri Hohlov, Chairman of IIS Board of Directors, was among the participants of the meeting. He made a presentation "World Summit on the Information Society and Russian regions' readiness for the Information Society" (in Russian) and proposed to establish an expert council on the Information Society development under the Council of Federation.

The meeting results allowed to adopt recommendations which will soon be published on the site of the Council of Federation.

All-Russian meeting was held on 25 November 2005 in the Small Hall of the Council of Federation on Bolshaya Dmitrovka street.