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
“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.”
“We have had many discussions during the process of Russia’s accession into the WTO, about how to organise this work in the future so as not to let down our investors and to fulfill all of our promises to them, on the one hand, while meeting WTO requirements in car assembly, on the other. We have reached a number of compromises, and Russia will shoulder part of the burden in order to honour its commitments to the investors. We are doing this in order to increase the technological level of the automobile industry and to saturate our market with modern competitive goods.”
“Importantly, the mutual flow of capital between our countries keeps growing. In the first half of 2011, the Russian economy received some $5.6 billion in investments from Germany. The amount of German investment that has accrued in the Russian economy has reached $29 billion. These days, German businesses are involved in many of Russia’s economic sectors, including strategic ones, and they operate in almost all of the country’s regions. There are more than 4,000 (4,600, to be precise) enterprises with German involvement currently operating in 80 Russian regions.”
“Of course, the Russia-Germany economic partnership is not limited to energy. We cooperate intensively in mechanical engineering, transport, the automotive industry and in shipbuilding. In this regard, particularly noteworthy are the sizable investments made in the Russian economy by German heavyweights such as Siemens (1 billion euros) and Volkswagen (which, on November 4, launched a new assembly line in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod, and the company’s plant in Kaluga turned out its 300,000th automobile in October).”
“We are open to broader cooperation and to the consolidation of business ties with our partners. And we believe that the mutual benefits of our cooperation are apparent to everyone. Large-scale joint projects in industry, infrastructure and power engineering provide a good opportunity to make long-term investments, insuring finances against unfavourable fluctuations on the world markets and enabling us to gain a foothold on new emerging markets. To stimulate and solidify economic growth, we need to make the most of our “mutual trust” capital. We’ve accumulated a lot of this with our European partners, notably with members of the German business community. And rather than wasting it, we’ve been steadily building it up in recent years.”
“Educational links are traditionally an important and effective element of the SCO’s activities. In this regard, a major step is establishing SCO University, a project involving some 60 top universities in SCO member states. The university charter will be signed during the Week of Education of SCO Member States «Education without Borders» currently underway in Moscow.”
“I consider establishing the SCO Energy Club a timely step. With assistance from the club, business communication and information exchange can be developed. It is necessary to establish the club’s regulatory framework and its secretariat.”
“We have agreed to speed up work to establish a special account of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that could become an effective instrument for financing these projects. At the same time, we will address the issue of the Development Bank, an idea proposed by our Chinese partners. <…>We will continue to promote direct contact between our companies, business associations and public entities. In return, we expect active and effective efforts from the SCO Business and Youth councils, which have initiated the Moscow Business Dialogue forum where attendees discuss prospects for interaction in breakthrough areas, such as information technology, Internet communications, e-business and e-commerce.”
“I believe that we need to form a strong infrastructural outline of the Shanghai Organisation. Primarily, we need this in order to further expand our respective national economies, and to create new points of growth and additional opportunities for the people of our nations. Secondly, this will help realise the huge transit potential of the region and secure its role as a link between Europe and the Asian-Pacific Region.”
“The prompt restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan is our common goal. Russia is prepared to participate in projects that seek to restore the Afghan economy, and we will continue to provide necessary assistance to our Afghan friends. All SCO member countries require proper conditions and guarantees for safe and steady development. We must provide secure protection against all threats and risks to our citizens.”
“During the decade of its operation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has become an influential international forum, and has built up a significant capacity to develop the economy, and strengthen stability and security in the region. I share the perspective that our colleagues expressed earlier, that with our combined efforts we will be able to bring the work of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to a whole new level and achieve the ambitious goal of transforming our organisation into a foundational structure of the global economic and political architecture, an effective platform for cooperation between regional associations and an avenue for expanding dialogue with neighbouring countries.”
