Present activities of cartographic agencies of Russian and Belarus

In 1992 Russia and Belarus have created national cartography-geodetic agencies. Since 1999 the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography of Russia and State Property Committee of Belarus held joint sessions which involve scientists and experts in the fields of geodesy and cartography of these countries. At these joint sessions they review the most urgent issues of bilateral cooperation.

At present scientists of the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography of Russia and State Property Committee of Belarus have set the following goals:

• to develop and implement an intergovernmental program of standardization and metrological support of topographic, geologic and cartographic development for the period until 2015;
• to develop a concept of spatial data infrastructures of CIS States;
• to cooperate in the field of standardization of geographic information management for creation of  land navigation systems.

- In particular, - points out Vladimir Kuznetsov, the head of the international cooperation and metrology of the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography - this year they will finish joint project on creation of digital topographic maps for the cross-border territories of Russia and Belarus. Russian and Belarusian experts have done a lot to unify the technology of map plotting and the software used. They are developing technical requirements to create a data base of digital cartographic information for the cross-border region. They are also planning to synchronize coordinates setting on the federal astronomic-geodetic area network of Russia and Belarus with the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and American Global Positioning System (GPS).