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
“When preping and approving new targeted programmes proceed from the real economic situation, selecting elements of the new programmes carefully, and trying to find the most rational and economically justified ways of implementing them.”
“I'd like to tell you that we have long set ourselves the goal of launching a commodities and raw materials exchange for trade in oil and oil products. We were planning to do this in St. Petersburg, and would like to discuss with you potential cooperation. Maybe, it makes sense to open a subsidiary of this exchange in Kazakhstan, say, in Alma Ata or Astana, or wherever you suggest. At any rate, the closer our cooperation here, the better it will be for both of us.”
"The transitional period of the final phase of RAO UES reorganisation must not cause interruptions in power supplies. Neither people nor the economy should suffer. Now the Energy Ministry is responsible for coordinating all relevant issues. In addition, the Government has set up the Federal Staff for Energy Supply. Similar bodies have been set up in the Russian regions."
"Organisations that enjoy special tax privileges will have their increased contribution rates compensated for by the federal budget. This reference is to small-business units operating in the high-technology sectors of the economy. I mean precisely them and want this to be clearly understood from the outset. This also refers to agricultural producers. They, too, will be given special treatment. And that rule will be in effect through the course of a five-year interim period. Within that time, these industries and these businesses ought to be able to adapt to the new system."
"All organisations, regardless of the industry they belong to, will have to adopt the new principles of contribution payment. As I said, business will certainly face extra costs following these changes. But I want to stress that simultaneous action will be taken to create mechanisms to avoid increasing the tax burden on business."
"Our goal in the coming years must be to improve the performance of the basic, fundamental branches of the Russian economy: transport, fuel, energy, banking, farming, and others. We must make serious progress in building a system of national innovation, promote competition, and create reliable guarantees of ownership rights. It is necessary to fully utilise these new factors of economic growth, above all those connected with human potential and its development."
"We have agreed to help the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending by increasing its authorised capital by 60 billion roubles. We should do this anyway, whether there are problems in the global economy or not; we need to develop the mortgage system, and the Agency has long asked us to increase its authorised capital. We should do this along with appropriating the planned 250 billion roubles to make market operation more effective."
"The Russian Government and the Central Bank of Russia have adopted a block of measures to ensure Russia's economic stability. Considerable funds have been allocated to stabilise Russia's financial institutions, and a package of tax innovations has been formulated to continue to stimulate the economy."
"Taxation should play a more stimulating role, rather than merely serve as an instrument of securing the state's fiscal interests. Starting from 2009 corporate expenditure on education, health care and the housing problems of employees will be exempt from taxes. We have also extended the list of tax cuts for companies investing in research and development".
"Eliminating institutional obstacles to investment is an unqualified priority. We intend to get rid of the obsolete permit and control procedures involved in starting and developing a business. They must be replaced with mechanisms of self-regulation and responsibility".
"Russia needs to build a strong independent financial system. In this, we plan to make Russia an international financial centre, which envisages developing the banking system, the stock and commodity exchanges, streamlining the tax legislation concerning investments in the securities market. I have already stated that we decided to zero out the income tax for those who trade on the stock exchange".
"Today we have made the economy's innovation development our key task. Not only because the state and any government is obliged to improve the quality of life for its citizens - there is an underlying economic objective that prompts us to address these problems constantly and systematically. Since, as you have already stated, it is impossible to address innovation development problems without an educated specialist, a healthy person living in good conditions. It is our strategic goal. It is an essential, so to say, infrastructure requirement to develop innovations".
"As planned, we will aim at further decreasing economic pressure, trying to arrange economic activities to reduce the tax burden. This is our strategic choice".
"As far as general designers are concerned, unfortunately, we lack a permanent platform for dealing with people who generate all the main ideas. This concerns not only the aircraft industry but also other hi-tech sectors. I suppose that we should set up a council of general designers working in hi-tech sectors under the Prime Minister’s auspices".
"We have recently decided to merge numerous aircraft unit-and-component manufacturers with the Russian Technologies State Corporation (Rostekhnologii), whose managers must ensure that the national industry starts making inexpensive and up-to-date products".
"We will seek to reduce the tax burden. We will try to do it. But we must bear in mind that we face major challenges in reforming the socially sensitive sectors: public health, education and the pension system. All these reforms will involve considerable budget outlays because all these changes should enhance living standards and not lower them. So, budget expenditure will have to increase. That is why we must think about tax cuts, but we should tread warily".
"We set up a special fund for nanotechnologies. Some 180 billion roubles ($7.24 billion, or €5.01 billion) is planned for this sort of research work".
"The long-term national development concept stipulates the following key tasks: increasing average life expectancy to 75 years, stopping negative population growth; reducing mortality rates".
"We must overhaul the health care and pension systems, implement infrastructure development programmes and ensure Russia's rational integration into the global trade system. Economic growth is the only way to accomplish all these objectives. Labour productivity, a key parameter, should soar by 200%-300%".
"Our strategic goal is to ensure sustainable innovative development, to provide better educational and health-care opportunities, to improve the environment and to reliably guarantee the security of Russian citizens".
"We have to complete the formation of competitive integrated structures in key branches of industry".
"In the mid-term we shall have to switch over to a new technology level. I mean a closed fuel cycle and commercial fast neutron reactor development. The Targeted Programme Atomic Energy Technologies of the New Generation must meet this challenge. The development of the Programme should be accomplished by November. One of the main demands facing the industry is the observance of safety measures. The safety system must be on the highest modern level and correspond to the highest world standards. And, of course, we can't spare money on this. This is not something to economize on".
"We have several items to discuss. One of the key items is the production of strategic materials for weapons, military and specialised hardware. We are talking about the production of composite materials, alloy additives, lubricants and special materials. They are indispensable in creating new-generation equipment, in making it competitive, effective and reliable. That key sector of the defence industry was at one time lagging behind. Some technologies were lost and production capacity was reduced. Unfortunately, we also lost some of the qualified personnel. As a result, we became dependent on foreign suppliers to some extent. And that in such an important and sensitive sphere as the defence industry. So it is necessary to attend seriously to the retrofitting of our enterprises and to research and development".
"Today, auto manufacturing should become innovatory in nature, generating demand for a skilled work force and promoting scientific and technological ideas, while stimulating small- and medium-size businesses. As many as 23 industrial assembly plants are already operating across the country. Their output is expected to grow to 1.5 million cars by 2012. In the long run, approximately 80 per cent of the cars sold in Russia should be produced within it. It is also necessary to meet social requirements such as the production of school buses and medical and public transport vehicles. And we should also boost our export potential".
"The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared for the meeting its forecast estimates. According to them, in 2009-2011 the average annual growth rate of Gross Domestic Product is expected to be 6.5 percent. The increase in industrial production is estimated at 5.5 percent, while the agricultural production growth is forecasted at 4 percent and increase in investments is estimated at 13 percent. The share of innovative goods is growing and must grow in industrial production and exports. Though I have to say, after looking at the figures you gave, that they reveal rather low growth rates. We are talking about the innovative path of development, yet the Economic Development and Trade Ministry's forecast estimates do not show any signs of innovative development. Has anyone seen the forecast? It shows very slow figures. Here, I should emphasize that we have to consider these figures as a minimum level that we cannot fall short of. In practice, we must achieve higher results".
