On January 20, 2017 press conference devoted to development of space technologies in Belarus was held in the press center of the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA). Director of the Scientific and Engineering Republican Unitary Enterprise "Geoinformation Systems" of the National Academy of Sciences Sergey A. Zolotoy told reporters about achievements and prospects of space technologies development in Belarus.

In recent years, space research is actively developing in Belarus. A system of Earth remote sensing has been created, satellite data from the first Belarusian satellite are used by 11 ministries. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is working to create a new Belarusian Earth remote sensing spacecraft of high resolution. According to Sergei Zolotoy, the International Space Congress is proposed to be held in Belarus in 2018. He said that it was an initiative of Belarusian cosmonauts to hold the International Space Congress in Belarus and that Belarus was ready to provide a platform for the event in 2018. The letter with a proposal to host the congress was signed by such famous cosmonauts as Vladimir Kovalenok and Oleg Novitsky. In 2017 such a congress will be held in Paris and there it will be decided where to hold the next Congress. Sergey Zolotoy also said that Belarus was ready to host the Congress and the consent of the head of state had been received. According to him, at the moment the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is preparing information for Vladimir Kovalenok's report on the Belarusian achievements in astronautics, which he is going to present at the Congress in Paris.