On January 28, speaking at the first specialized conference on quantum technology, Ms. Ekaterina Solntseva - Director in charge of Quantum Technology of the Russian National Atomic Energy Group (Rosatom) - announced positive signals about the country's high-tech export capacity.
According to Ms. Solntseva, the list of Russia's "priority partners" has now expanded significantly. At least 10 countries are actively approaching and expressing their desire to learn from experience as well as buy quantum products developed by Russia.
The representative of Rosatom emphasized the clear difference in the nature of cooperation. While relations with China mainly focus on scientific exchange and foundational research, the interest from this group of 10 countries is deeply commercial. They come to Russia not only for research but also to find practical solutions that can be applied immediately.
At the conference, an interesting issue raised was Russia's position in the global "quantum race". Ms. Solntseva acknowledged the fact that the US and China are still the two "giants" leading the game. These two powers have an advantage of early departure, huge budgets and attracting most of the world's scientific talents.
However, Russia found its own place thanks to its effectiveness. Statistics presented show that although Russia is only ranked 11th in the world in terms of the scale of state budget allocated to this field, Russia is in the group with the highest practical results.
Russia's quantum program is considered one of the most effective projects in the world in terms of the ratio between invested capital and results," Ms. Solntseva affirmed. This is the key factor that makes Russian technology attractive in the eyes of small and medium-sized budget countries.
Explaining further why countries are turning to Russia instead of the two leading powers, Ms. Solntseva gave a sharp geopolitical analysis. She believes that the US and China, as leaders, tend to keep technology secret and are not interested in sharing core achievements with a third party.
This closedness has created a market gap. Following countries - countries that have just launched quantum programs in the past decade - are forced to seek more open partners.
In the group of about 10 countries belonging to this'second wave', Russia's program has proven its superior strength," Ms. Solntseva concluded. This positions Russia not as a direct competitor for the throne with the US or China, but as a leading technology solution provider for the rest of the world.
