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
"I would like to say again that we realise that although relations between the Russian and Georgian governments are at an all time low, such that has never been in history, relations between the two peoples have a different character. The relations between Georgians and Russians have a solid foundation developed over centuries. We are connected by thousands of invisible ties, including mutual interests and a common history."
"$35 billion in foreign direct investment has been channelled into the Russian economy from January through September 2009. This is a good result given the global financial and economic crisis."
"I would like to start with the application of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to invest 4.6 billion roubles (approximately $150 million) in a private Russian commercial bank. This is a good example of interaction between private Russian businesses and a leading international financial institution. Investments in banking are especially important during the ongoing global financial crisis. I am pleased that the value of our banks is increased not only through long-term state allocations but also through private investment and with funds provided by international financial institutions."
“Indeed, if Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance pool our efforts in areas of common interest, we can achieve good results. This applies to combating international terrorism, controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and delivery vehicles for these weapons, and fighting organized crime and illegal drug trafficking.”
“Our cooperation also looks promising in the banking and financial sectors, high technology, communications and telecommunications. The joint venture GTel Mobile, which includes Russian VympelKom, is a successful mobile phone operator. And yesterday a Vietnamese-Russian bank opened a subsidiary in Moscow. We have also done well in mechanical engineering. The KamAZ Truck Plant is a leader here and continues to be active in the Vietnamese market despite tough competition. It has already produced more than 1,500 trucks in Vietnam.”
“Today Rosatom (The State Atomic Energy Corporation) and Inter RAO UES signed a memorandum of understanding with their Vietnamese friends. In future this agreement will allow them to develop full-scale relations in such a promising area as the civilian nuclear industry. We are ready to help our Vietnamese partners in implementing their national programme for the development of the nuclear power industry until 2020."
“We have amassed a wealth of experience in the energy industry. Our joint venture Vietsovpetro is one of the world's leading oil and gas companies in output and, importantly, financial viability. We are successfully developing our relations in the electrical power industry. In the 1970s and 1980s this country helped Vietnam build thermal and hydroelectric power stations with an overall capacity of more than 4,000 megawatts. It would be no exaggeration to say that these power stations now form the backbone of Vietnam's electrical power industry. Nowadays Russian companies such as Silovye Mashiny are building new electricity generating facilities in Vietnam.”
“Today we are living through the world financial and economic crisis, but for all that our trade and economic turnover has increased in the nine months of this year over last year. Vietnam is carrying out 60 projects with the participation of Russian companies. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.”
“Relations between Russia and Vietnam are of an exceptionally special character. Both countries are treating their relations with particular attention and special warmth. The opening of the Kamran memorial as a tribute to our former military brotherhood is the recent evidence of this”.
“Over the past several years, relations between our two countries have been developing very positively. In four years we have, I believe, tripled our trade turnover, which reached two billion dollars last year. Naturally, the volume of trade decreased somewhat due to the global economic downturn. But I am convinced that this is a temporary setback, and that the levels will rebound”.
“I am happy to note that India, which truly is an important strategic partner for us both in the region and globally, strongly supports our contacts in virtually every area.”
“We consider the implementation of joint business projects to be a key factor in achieving sustained development and economic growth. In that respect we recognise that India has for a great many years proved our reliable partner. We have many promising areas such as mineral extraction, metallurgy, energy, the jewellery and chemical industries, pharmaceutics, aviation, machine-building, space, transport and communications.”
“Our task now is to move forward, to develop all the myriad opportunities we have to diversify the Russian-Indian partnership. The time has come to move to a qualitatively new level of bilateral interaction and to move on from traditional trade to large-scale joint projects and investments, including in the markets of third countries. This is even more important now when we are already seeing early signs of recovery in the global economy and business activity.”
“I would like to say that the strengthening of our strategic partnership with India has been, and remains, a key priority for Russian foreign policy. That applies both to our interaction in the international arena and to the development of multi-faceted economic relations. We have already created a solid base for the latter. Over the last three years our trade has grown at a steady 30% a year. Moreover, it grew even in a time of global crisis. It grew by almost 8% during the first nine months of this year. It is a totally unique phenomenon. We see that cooperation with India has become genuinely immune to the crisis and that it need not fear fluctuations in the world market.”
“Israel is one of Russia’s priority partners in the Middle East. We have also developed friendly relations over the past decades. We certainly value our contact and plan to continue promoting it”
"Now, concerning the WTO. Our entry remains our strategic objective, but our impression is that for some unknown motives certain countries, including the United States, are hindering our accession to the WTO. For us, our main priority is still integration across the post-Soviet space, and we are very pleased with the processes going on in the Customs Union, which I mentioned before, and which has been formed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus."
"We are determined to step up cooperation in advanced technologies and science, including in purely scientific areas such as the International Laser and Cyclotron Centres currently under construction in Bratislava. We welcome the Slovak Government's decision to continue this project and ensure that it receives proper funding. For our part, we will do everything possible to complete this project successfully."
"Increasing work on infrastructure is also on our agenda. Possible projects include extending the railway from Kosice to Bratislava, with a branch to Vienna. <…> This project involves one more country: Ukraine. <…> The project has been progressing at a good pace so far. We have noted Prime Minister Fico's remark that this project is critical for Slovakia, not only in terms of building a railway but also due to the possibility of expanding the country's transport capabilities, which means increasing the capacity of ports and airports, directing cargo traffic through Slovakia to southern Europe, and using the transport capabilities of Slovakia proper. This issue will be thoroughly discussed and implemented as a part of a wider programme."
"Until recently, trade between Russia and Slovakia was distinctive for its positive growth, increasing more than threefold within the past five years. The global financial and economic crisis has certainly affected trade, and this year it will face a considerable decline. There is only one solution: We must restructure our trade and economic cooperation, and decrease its dependence on external conditions. This can be achieved by expanding business connections, investment partnerships, and cooperation in high-technology industries."
"Russia will continue supplying oil to the Slovak market and transporting it through Slovakia. In this respect, the project to extend the Druzhba oil pipeline from Bratislava to the refinery in Schwechat, outside Vienna, appears especially promising, although it requires further study by all those concerned."
