JEDDAH: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), and internet companies Yandex and Mail.ru Group have announced the creation of an alliance against coronavirus (COVID-19).
The alliance’s main objective is to ensure operational testing of the population using the best available technologies, as well as industrial safety and uninterrupted operation of Russia’s largest enterprises, according to an announcement made in a press release from Moscow.
It said leading Russian clinics and laboratories will take part in the project, and the alliance had proposed a series of regulatory changes for prompt testing of people. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has approved these changes.
RUIE “will actively participate in the work of the Center for Expertise on Testing and Application of World Practices to Combat Coronavirus, created by RDIF,” the press release said.
It added that an approved Russian-Japanese testing system “is a unique solution, one of the most effective in diagnostics COVID-19, with high mobility, accuracy and speed of testing.” It reduces testing time from two or more hours to 30 minutes.
The range of test systems is adapted both for stationary laboratories and for unique portable mini-laboratories, and is ready to be used everywhere.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said: “One of the key conditions for defeating the coronavirus is to combine the efforts of leading institutions and companies with expertise on a wide range of issues.”
He added: “We strive to support promising research and systems in the fight against the virus, to provide financial support and technological introduction of advanced technologies and practices to maximize the coverage of the population and to quickly overcome the effects of the virus.”
RDIF is Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors.
