International cooperation is one of the priorities of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The Academy of Sciences develops mutually beneficial relations with foreign scientific and industrial organizations, carries out interstate scientific and scientific and technical programs and projects, participates in the activities of international scientific and scientific and technical organizations and associations. The Academy's organizations carry out scientific and technical cooperation with organizations and scientists from 85 countries.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has signed more than 200 major cooperation agreements with scientific and scientific and production centers, as well as science management bodies from 63 states, and at the level of organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus with partners from 56 countries. The formed regulatory and legal framework of international cooperation provides its support, including in terms of the development of foreign economic activity of organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has signed more than 200 major cooperation agreements with scientific and scientific and production centers, as well as science management bodies from 63 states, and at the level of organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus with partners from 56 countries. The formed regulatory and legal framework of international cooperation provides its support, including in terms of the development of foreign economic activity of organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus develops scientific and scientific and technical cooperation on the platform of a number of international scientific associations. One of such platforms is the International Association of the Academies of Sciences (IAAS, established in 1994; http://www.int-maan.by), which unites 20 full and 6 associate members from the CIS countries, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Montenegro and Georgia. In 2017, by the decision of the IAAS Council (resolution of the IAAS Council of May 25, 2017), the functions of the Basic Academy of Sciences for organizational and methodological support were transferred to the NAS of Belarus.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus actively participates in the activities of the Alliance of International Science Organizations Belt and Road (ANSO; http://www.anso.org.cn). ANSO members are 36 organizations from more than 30 countries. On November 3, 2018, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus became one of the founders and a full member of the ANSO Alliance, whose headquarters operates on the basis of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The purpose of ANSO is to provide scientific and technological support for the implementation of the multi-trillion dollar financing project Belt and Road; financing of the organization's activities is planned to be carried out primarily from a special Chinese fund created for the implementation of the Belt and Road project.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus also actively participates in the work of the International Scientific Association InterAcademy Partnership (IAP; https://www.interacademies.org), which is the legal successor of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP), established in 1995, the NAS of Belarus has been a member of it since 1999, and in 2016 the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP), the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP) and the InterAcademy Council (IAC) merged the new International Scientific Association InterAcademy Partnership, and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus continued its membership already within the framework of the new structure. Currently, the IAP consists of 144 national and regional member academies, the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA), the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS), the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC).
Work is being carried out through the International Science Council (ISC; https://council.science), of which the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has been a member since 1992. This is an international non–governmental organization dedicated to the development of international cooperation for the promotion of science (ISC unites 40 international scientific unions and associations, as well as more than 140 national and regional scientific organizations, including academies of sciences and research councils). Before merging in 2018 with the International Social Science Council, it was known as the International Council for Science (ISCU).
In order to commercialize existing developments in foreign markets, the NAS of Belarus, together with foreign partners, has established and operates joint centers and laboratories. 44 international research centers are currently operating on the basis of the organizations of the NAS of Belarus (with organizations of the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Turkmenistan, Germany, etc.). New international research centers and laboratories are being created for the development and adaptation of advanced technologies, as well as their promotion to foreign markets.
The foreign economic activity of the organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus includes work on export contracts and raising funds from foreign sources for grants. Over the past 20 years, significant progress has been made in the foreign economic activity of the organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus: since 1997, exports of products, goods, works and services (including grants) have grown more than 10 times and reached more than 60 million US dollars in 2022. The geography of export earnings of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus covers about 40 states.
The main export directions of the Academy are the supply of high-tech goods (including equipment) and the performance of contract research works in such areas as machine and instrument engineering; powder metallurgy; metalworking; laser physics; biotechnology; new materials; chemical technologies; information technology. The organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus also train highly qualified scientific personnel (including in English) in a wide range of specialties for foreign scientific and educational institutions.
In order to expand the export of high-tech products, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus takes an active part in international exhibition events, within the framework of which academic developments have been awarded numerous prestigious prizes.
Every year, the organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus hold about 70 international scientific events (symposiums, conferences, seminars) in various fields of science on topical issues of scientific and innovative development.
