International Nanotechnology seminar opens in Havana

HAVANA, September 15. /TASS/. At least 150 specialists from a dozen of countries, including Russia, are taking part in the Firth International Seminar of Nanosciences and Nanotechnology. The forum organised by the Centre for Advanced Study in Cuba (CEAC) and the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba started its work in the capital Havana on Monday and will last till September 18. Skolkovo Foundation’s Senior Vice-President for External Communications Alexander Chernov told TASS that the Russian delegation was pinning hopes on the forum as Cuba is "a sort of gate to Latin America as well as the quintessence of Latin American continent’s talent and it is also on good terms with Russia." Besides, Cuba has carried out some significant research in medicine and biotechnology, he said. On the other hand, the country faces the problems Russian specialists can help to solve, for instance in agriculture, he said. "Cuba has entered an interesting, peculiar process of transformations and if it adopts our practices, I believe the cooperation is doomed to success," Chernov said adding that "any cluster making up the Skolkovo’s five clusters - space, nuclear, biomedicine clusters and the clusters for energy efficiency and for IT - would never be out of demand in Cuba," he went on to say adding that each cluster "may meet certain opportunities in Latin America." Cuba for the Skolkovo Foundation is "a retaining wall or a supporting point" so that it could get into Latin America’s market, he said. The forum, which embraced specialists from the United States, Canada, Austria, Spain, Mexico, Germany, France, South Korea and Argentina among others, focuses on bio-nanotechnology, nanomedicine, production and application of nanomaterials and the public perception of nanotechnology. The first International Seminar of Nanosciences and Nanotechnology took place in Havana in 2007. Raed more