“A great deal has been done in recent years to advance Russian-Chinese relations. We don’t have a single irritant in our relations, but we do have shared interests. We’ve managed to develop effective instruments for achieving our common goals, with the most important of these being higher living standards and socio-economic cooperation.”
“We have ever more opportunities together with our Norwegian partners. I am referring to delimitation agreement in the North. The decisions taken at the political level should proceed to the stage of commercial implementation.”
“We would like very much to see a substantial increase in our trade and economic ties with Japan. However recently we have made significant strides in energy, high technologies and the auto industry, which is especially gratifying. Several Japanese companies have launched production in Russia, and these are very modern, high technology facilities. I hope that our trade and economic ties will grow.”
“China's economic growth is by no means a threat, but a challenge that carries colossal potential for business cooperation – a chance to catch the Chinese wind in the sails of our economy. We should seek to more actively form new cooperative ties, combining the technological and productive capabilities of our two countries and tapping China's potential – judiciously, of course – in order to develop the economy of Siberia and the Russian Far East.”
“I don’t think we are seeing a cooling [with USA]. We have a constant dialogue – we dislike some of the things our colleagues are doing, they don’t like some things we’re doing. But in general we have built a partnership over the key issues on the international agenda.”
“We have agreed on long-term contracts for the delivery of gas to Turkey until 2021 and 2025. I would especially like to thank the Turkish government for its decision to give its final authorisation to Gazprom to build the South Stream gas pipeline system on the Black Sea bed in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone.”
“Turkmenistan is our longstanding and traditional partner in many areas of cooperation, and principally of course in the gas sector. It is pleasing to note that our trade volumes keep growing. Last year this volume grew 33%. This is a very good indicator.”
“We are stepping up cooperation in the energy industry, including major joint initiatives in the oil-and-gas sector, civilian nuclear projects, energy effectiveness and energy-saving. Our French partners are making a practical contribution to the development of new routes for hydrocarbon deliveries to Europe. These routes are vital for the energy security not only of France, but also of the rest of Europe.”
“We are carrying out joint work on a large scale – both in traditional fields of cooperation and in completely new areas. We have just signed the bilateral action programme on partnership in modernisation. Its implementation will help us to enhance cooperation in high-tech spheres and start active work on science-intensive innovation projects.”
“In the Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC) we regularly meet with foreign business executives and together, we decide how we can improve the business climate in Russia. As a result, we have simplified the issue of work visas for highly qualified foreign specialists. More than 11,000 work permits have been issued under the new regulations. We must continue removing the barriers that get in the way of business.”