Kazakhstan's Science Budget To Increase Immensely

Kazakh President Nazarbaev (file photo) (RFE/RL) October 13, 2006 -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev today said funding of national scientific research will increase 25-fold within the next five years to 350 billion tenges ($2.7 billion).

Addressing a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Kazakhstan's Academy of Sciences in Almaty, Nazarbaev said that Kazakhstan's science budget would represent 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2012.

Nazarbaev also announced the creation next year of a state-owned science foundation that will be responsible for funding and coordinating scientific research works.

He also unveiled plans to set up five national laboratories that would focus on nuclear, biotechnology, and nanotechnology research.

(Kazakhstan Today, Interfax-Kazakhstan)