Victor Yushchenko has opened a congress of the National Academy of Sciences, President's press office reported.
Addressing the audience, the Head of State said the government considered the development of science and education to be one of their paramount priorities. He emphasized the need for profound changes to develop Ukrainian science.
“The Ukrainian government is your partner, and we understand that fundamental sciences should play the leading role,” he said.
Yushchenko stated that our science was quite advanced, for "Ukrainian scientists are praised worldwide for their research in nuclear energy, physics, mathematics, geology, and other fields."
“Our science did many things we can call strategic in the past year,” he opined.
The President, however, claimed that Ukraine’s science calls for change. One of the biggest obstacles that impedes the development of science, he said, is its inadequate funding.
“We are aware of your financial problems and try to take drastic measures. Ukrainian science has never had a bigger budget than in 2005,” he said, adding that additional revenues were spent on science, medicine, and education.
Yushchenko opined that business should also be a partner of science. Then he reiterated that we need structural changes, particularly in the field of copyright protection.
The Head of State urged Ukrainian scientists to formulate national priorities in science and asked them to support changes in order to succeed.
“We suffer from having no clear-cut priorities in science,” he said, adding that he hoped the congress would help formulate such priorities.
NAS President Borys Paton, Premier Yuriy Yekhanurov, and Education Minister Stanislav Nikolayenko were present at the meeting.
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