KAZAN (Sputnik) – Japan’s Toshiba plans to invest in a series of projects in Tatarstan, including updating energy and healthcare facilities in the oil-rich Russian republic as well as in training health and pharmaceutical specialists, the local authorities said.
Tatarstan’s President Rustam Minnikhanov is attending the Science and Technology in Society forum in Japan where he is discussing prospects for cooperation with senior managers of the world’s leading companies.
“The Japanese company’s equipment is widely used in many sectors of the republic, including in healthcare,” Minnikhanov said at a meeting with Toshiba’s Director General Masashi Muromachi. “We need to further develop projects to update the equipment already in use.”
The Tatar president said joint projects in the energy sector were another promising area for cooperation. He gave instructions to set up a working group and draw up proposals for cooperation with Toshiba in modernizing the republic’s power plants.
Tatarstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information and Communication Roman Shaikhutdinov said the sides were also considering a project to use Toshiba technology at the Volga automated sorting centre of the Russian post service (Pochta Rossii).
The rector of Kazan Federal University, Ilshat Gafurov, has come up with a proposal to create a specialized training centre in healthcare and pharmaceuticals using Toshiba equipment.
Toshiba’s Muromachi said the company was interested in the projects to modernize the equipment and develop new software for Tatarstan. “The company already has expertise in building training centers in Japan and in other countries. These projects have a great potential,” he added.
