A delegation of the Russian Academy of Sciences is taking part in the ongoing 12th China-Russia Engineering and Technology Forum in Harbin, China. On October 23, KarRC RAS Director General Olga Bakhmet gave a talk at the plenary session as a speaker invited by the Chinese host, who has organized the visit. The organization’s leader spoke about the practical developments by Karelian scientists in various fields and outlined the lines and areas of joint work that may be promising for international cooperation.

In particular, research in biotechnology includes the cultivation of economically valuable agricultural and forest tree species, such as the curly birch. A technology has been designed to restore salmon populations using artificial egg incubation nests, and a method has been developed to reduce the use of antibiotics in trout farming by feed the fish a dihydroquercetin-based supplement. Studies are also underway on natural feedstock for crop growth stimulants based on extracts from White Sea algae. The state of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is monitored by original methodologies which involve active use of remote sensing techniques. Quite a few advances have been made in geology, e.g. in the processing and use of shungite by means of nanotechnologies, or a utility model for monitoring the stability of mine roof structures. Original instruments have been designed: laser analyzers for granule and droplet size, a carbon dioxide flow meter, and others.

– The Karelian Research Centre RAS possesses extensive experience in international scientific cooperation and ample scientific potential for implementing innovative projects. This includes the commercialization of R&D results in agriculture, fisheries, mining, chemical industry, forestry, biotechnology, medicine, and mathematical computing. We are open to collaboration, – said Olga Bakhmet, wrapping up her presentation.

In conclusion, she invited the Forum participants to come to Karelia in September 2026, when the third international environmental conference on the BRICS regional-level cooperation, linked to the 80th anniversary since the foundation of KarRC RAS, is scheduled to take place.

The Karelian Research Centre has official cooperation arrangements with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). There are valid Memorandums of Understanding with the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of CAS, Institute of Hydrobiology of CAS, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, and Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of CAS. Scientists from Karelia and China discuss topics for joint research and prepare project applications. In 2025, three applications for joint research projects were submitted to the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. One of them, related to research on the construction of large-scale marine aquaculture facilities in China, was supported.