Concept of innovative medical cluster in the Caucasian Mineral Waters was presented at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This cluster may become one of the largest medical and scientific centers in Russia. In addition, its creation may lead to development of production of medical equipment in the North Caucasus.
According to Mikhail Afanasov, member of the Federation Council from Stavropol Territory, the Caucasian Mineral Waters are changing for the better: "I can say as a resident of this region, I love my country, I love my homeland, and I see that the Caucasian Mineral Waters are getting better and better There are many beautiful new buildings, private hotels, and so on. A lot of things have changed in terms of infrastructure. Kislovodsk has one of the best parks. Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, Essentuki have many places where our great poets spent their free time, all famous people visited this region. We want the entire Russia to see how beautiful and peaceful our region is. Believe me, we have no problems with the law. People come here for vacations, people are having fun. We have a very beautiful infrastructure, great air, great people. We're waiting for you and we will be very glad if you visit. You'll like it here."
According to the Ministry for North Caucasus Affairs, project of improvement of famous resort region, the Caucasian Mineral Waters, envisages creation of medical tourism center, based on best achievements of balneological potential of the region, as well as latest medical practices of international level. Medical tourism became one of the fastest growing and highly profitable spheres in the world. It's developed both in countries with historical specialization, such as Germany, Austria, and in regions where it's a new direction, like Israel, Eastern Europe. United Arab Emirates, which invest in creation of powerful medical clusters. Russia basically didn't view medical tourism as an industry. Over one billion US dollars are spent annually by Russians on treatment and rehabilitation abroad.
The Caucasian Mineral Waters' medical cluster will help to resolve several tasks at the federal level. In particular, it will help to deal with deficit of high-tech medical care in the North Caucasus. Today, out of 25,000 high-tech surgeries, residents of the North Caucasus are going through 20,000 of them outside of the district. This cluster will help to create new modern rehabilitation facilities.
