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
“Support from Russian citizens has always helped us, and I’m confident that the government’s future line-up will rely on the people. We must never forget about the needs of ordinary people. We must always remember how government-level decisions influence the lives of all ordinary Russian citizens.”
"We believe that the important approach now is to support the positive trends in the most advanced high-technology fields of cooperation. This will enable us to diversify our business ties and improve the competitive edge of the two countries in global markets."
"Economic cooperation between Russia and France is based on two powerful components - energy and high technology. Our countries have great potential in these areas, and a competitive advantage, which in turn secures their positions in world markets."
"Russia has always been open to close international cooperation, which should be based on respect for the partner, understanding mutual interests and profits".
"Energy remains one of our priorities. The work with our French partners confirms that Russia is committed to cooperation in this strategic area, whether in hydrocarbons, the energy industry or the peaceful use of nuclear energy".
"Our countries actively interact in industry as well as in research and development, for example, in aerospace. This is an important step towards boosting the quality of our business links and diversifying their structure".
"We use market methods to respond to emerging problems. The Government and the Bank of Russia have sufficient reserves to protect the Russian currency and the financial system. We have adopted a set of measures, as you know. These are both the Government and the Central Bank's measures, which provide extra liquidity to the market. The limit of budget funds deposited in banks has been raised from 625 billion roubles to 1.514 trillion roubles".
"I was pleased to see what was presented by the Belgian side. I cannot help but mention that our growing trade has reached $6 billion. I was particularly pleased to see the increasing Belgian investments in the Russian economy. Importantly, some of them are direct".
"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".
"My colleagues must have informed you that we have prepared a special computer programme to follow progress on each facility. The programme will also give an overall view of the whole project, enabling us, the International Olympic Committee, and you as its representative to monitor the general picture and particular activities daily and even hourly".
"We are interested in attracting foreign investments. I would like to say it openly and clearly. Of course we hope for reciprocity, for the western partners' equal interest in welcoming investors from Russia. We are perplexed to encounter purely political impediments that have no sound economic ground. We become more dependent on each other through mutual investments. But is there anything wrong with that? Apparently, it insures us against abrupt changes in the economic situation bringing together the business community in the whole world".
"There is certain tension on our stock exchange as well, but we believe that it is the result of domestic issues. Russia's economy has no systemic problems, with all key indicators being within norm, including the surplus of both the budget and trade balance. Our gold and foreign exchange reserves are growing, as are the opportunities in the country's social sector. I think nobody will dispute the fact that the major issues are rooted in the American and European financial markets. I am confident that the current problems can be overcome. Of course, we cannot ignore the events that are unfolding, with both Russian Government and the Central Bank of Russia taking necessary measures. As you know, Russian Financial Ministry has adopted a decision to place 1.5 trillion roubles worth of treasury funds on the market".
"For Russia the most reasonable way to address the situation is to keep theprices at a level where they would cover manufacturers' expenses and investment needs, but at the same time would not have a negative effect on the world and national economies".
"I am well aware that the predictability and stability of economic policy is vitally important for business, and I would like to emphasise that despite certain political events of some urgent and even critical nature, Russia will not change its economic development model. Our policy will remain unaltered, there will be no closed market or economic mobilisation. We will not take any politically motivated decisions or actions in the economy, and we are trying to make our plans as open and clear as possible".
"We must study everything that concerns the preparation for the Beijing Olympics. Our Chinese partners' best practices are to be meticulously analyzed and taken into consideration. It is also important to follow organisational nuances when observing the preparing for the Vancouver and London Olympics".
"We will be happy if Bulgaria becomes more active in the Black Sea region. We have discussed economic issues, including energy, military and technical cooperation and major projects. We have also discussed our financial relations, where we appear to have full understanding of what needs to be done, and cultural cooperation. This year in Bulgaria is the Year of Russia. We have agreed with Mr Prime Minister that we will make every effort to launch the Year of Bulgaria in Russia the next year".
"Russia and Bulgaria have strong long-standing ties. In the recent years we have managed to increase the mutual trade volumes by more than 30% last year in the face of many difficulties. According to our current statistics, Russia is the top exporter to Bulgaria and ranks fourth in sales turnover between our countries".
