Rustam Minnikhanov meets with representatives of French industrial clusters

On June 25, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met with representatives of French industrial clusters: Pegas (aerospace), SCS (Secured Communicating Solutions) and Optitec (information technology) in Nice.

The clusters’ activities were presented to Rustam Minnikhanov and members of Tatarstan delegation.

Pegas is the center of aerospace industry in France. It includes more than 350 participants, from new enterprises to large associations, research organizations, economic and state partners. Established in 2005, the cluster houses 146 small and medium-sized business enterprises, 10 large groups of companies, 30 scientific and experimental facilities and laboratories, as well as engineering schools and universities. Employing 18,000 specialists, including 1,700 research workers, Pegas is one the leading clusters in terms of industrial output in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region.

Created in 2009, Eurobiomed brings together over 400 healthcare companies. Numerous start-ups and pharmaceutical companies are located in the biomedical cluster, which is the second largest healthcare cluster in France.

SCS is located in the Cote d'Azur region and includes more than 250 members with about 75 percent of them being small and medium businesses. This cluster specializes in microelectronics, telecommunications and software development. The cluster’s enterprises also deal with smart solutions, such as contactless technology, mobile services, inter-machine interaction, and security.

The Optitec’s activity is focused on the development of optics and visualization systems, including the space, as well as such fields as astrophysics, optics and photonics for the nuclear industry. The cluster cooperates with research institutes in Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Canada, Brazil, North African countries.

Rustam Minnikhanov suggested studying in details possible areas of cooperation with Pegas in the aerospace sphere.

Executive Director of Association of Innovative Regions of Russia Ivan Bortnik, who attended the presentation, suggested focusing on cooperation within the framework of real projects. He said that a French representative will come to Moscow in the near future to coordinate the cooperation in innovation sphere.