VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:
Good afternoon, colleagues. We have agreed to meet on a regular basis. Expert groups have been assembled and have begun their work. At least, that is what the media reports lead one to believe, and I hope that it reflects the real state of affairs. The first preliminary reports have been written up, and assessments have been made. The lines of the discussion have been drawn, and the most topical issues have been pushed to the fore. It is possible that we will be incorporating your recommendations into the government's work even before you finish. For example, we can use your advice in drafting the budget for 2012 and the two subsequent years. Ultimately, it is our hope to transform your ideas into realities.
Today, I suggest that we discuss certain important issues and basic prerequisites for the long-term and sustainable growth of the Russian economy. The first such area is the macro economy and all of the attendant factors in its stability, including a responsible and well-balanced budget (which I just mentioned), monetary policy, and public trust in our national currency. We all understand that these are basic prerequisites for efficient economic growth and social stability. I also know that different approaches are being voiced, including in budget policy.
In regard to the most sensitive issues, I am aware that there are different approaches to the budget deficit, including smoothly moving into the black or retaining the deficit for some time on the one hand and taking swift measures to move out of the red on the other. Let's discuss this today and weigh in all the pros and cons of either solution. I would like to add that in making these decisions, we must above all proceed from the necessity of fulfilling our social commitments to our citizens.
The second set of issues is related to identifying both internal and external challenges that can impede sustainable and meaningful growth. I would also suggest exchanging our views on the extremely important issue of the labour market. The situation is improving, and we have repeatedly cited figures to that effect. We have created about 1.4 million new jobs. The quality of these jobs is also improving, and that much is obvious. However, we need to step up our efforts and pay greater attention to boosting the efficiency of labour and training new, highly skilled specialists. The professional level of our workers and the education system as a whole must meet the requirements of an innovative and dynamic economy.
We need level-headed and time-tested approaches to our migration policy because it has become a very sensitive issue for our people. Russia's economy needs to attract a labour force, but this process should be balanced and free from unnecessary social tensions.
Another issue to discuss is the development of the healthcare system. We have two basic goals in this area, which are to continue lowering the death rate and raising our life expectancy and living standards. We need to set clear-cut priorities in healthcare development and policy in order to improve living standards and address Russia's demographic situation.
We are currently receiving preliminary census data that indicate that Russia's population is still falling. But we also know that our demographic policy has yielded positive results – the trend is positive. However, we have not yet reached our goal, which means that we need to pay particular attention to this issue. Moreover, it is easy to imagine what dramatic results we would see today if we had not been actively working on the demographic agenda over the past five years.
But despite all our efforts, the population has again dwindled. This means that we need to intensify our work and consider what else we could do to guarantee that positive trends culminate in positive results.
That is about all I wanted to mention in my opening remarks. Let's get down to work.
