Artur Parfenchikov: "We are implementing the President’s instruction to strengthen technological sovereignty"

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Modernising existing facilities and launching new production sites are among the key priorities of the Government of the Republic of Karelia. The region has established a casting competence centre for Russia’s machine-building industry and is actively developing the aquaculture sector. This was stated by the Head of the Republic of Karelia, Artur Parfenchikov, during the January Expert Dialogues. The event was held on 30 January at the National Centre RUSSIA.

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, Maxim Oreshkin, presented five megatrends that will shape the trajectory of global development over the coming decades. These include "A New Global Economic Paradigm: Globalisation 2.0", "Platformisation of the Global Economy and a New Level of Autonomy", "The Decline of Traditional Finance", "Demographic Collapse After the Peak of Population Growth", and "Human Transformation in a New Technological Era".

Commenting on Maxim Oreshkin’s presentation, the Head of the Republic of Karelia focused on projects related to import substitution. One such example is the establishment of a national casting competence centre for machine-building based at the Petrozavodskmash Foundry.

"The plant produces large cast-iron components. It has mastered and implemented cutting-edge casting technologies and now manufactures more than 50 new products, including cylinder blocks for diesel locomotive engines. In partnership with Transmashholding, we will continue to modernise and develop the plant. This is not merely a project, but a strategically important task aimed at fulfilling the instruction of the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to strengthen the country’s technological sovereignty," said Artur Parfenchikov.

At the same time, Karelia is developing its aquaculture sector. The regional government is systematically building the entire fish-farming cycle — from eggs to processing — including feed production.

"We already have a facility producing large-size juvenile salmon stock. We have also resolved the issue of creating our own feed production base: last year, we opened one of the largest Aquafeed plants in Russia. This is a modern, world-class facility with automated production and unique technologies, allowing the development of feed formulas for different fish species. The plant is capable of fully supplying fish-farming enterprises in other regions of the country," Artur Parfenchikov said.

The January Expert Dialogues are part of the Open Dialogue event series. The event was initiated by the National Centre RUSSIA in partnership with the Centre for Cross-Industry Expertise "Third Rome", with the support of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation.

Video recordings of lectures by international experts are available on the official website of the National Centre RUSSIA in the "Livestreams and Videos" section.