Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Astana for a working visit and met with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Nursultan Nazarbayev: I am genuinely happy to welcome you and the members of your delegation to our country.
Tomorrow you are going to hold a meeting of CIS Heads of Government. It will take place at a very complicated time, marked by a serious crisis. I think everybody is expecting you to discuss all these problems. We are also going to discuss it tomorrow morning when I welcome all the Heads of Government before the start of the meeting.
Not much time has passed since our February meeting, but while previously it seemed that our meetings were frequent, today they seem to be less so.
There are several questions I would like to raise. I think everyone would like to know how we will fight the crisis and try to cope with it. For the CIS states it will probably be the circulation of goods in our countries.
Secondly, there is the problem of the new flu virus. If the governments could announce joint measures tomorrow... I have heard the speech by the chief Russian sanitary officer who said that the strain has been identified. In that case all the states should take part in financing this project, especially since it is not costly. I think everybody is interested in that now.
On our mutual bilateral issues you are going to hold official talks with our Government today. I think you will discuss everything then. If you have any questions to me, you are welcome.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your time. The situation is indeed very difficult. The financial and economic crisis has affected everyone. On the way from the airport a colleague and I noted that the downturn has affected Russia and Kazakhstan about equally, the only difference being in the size of our economies.
That, unfortunately, applies to every aspect. However, there are some positive shifts in the world economy and in our economies. But there are also risks. We are aware of this. For the banking system it is the loan defaults, which may influence the economy as a whole.
But on the whole the measures being taken in our countries... I am aware than the Government in Kazakhstan is working hard on it. You personally pay much attention to it, and we in Russia try to be active and proceed in a consolidated manner at all the levels of Government. The situation is under control, it is not easy, but it is under control.
We are starting the budget planning process for the following year and we must begin it proceeding from the parameters that exist today and from the forecasts being made on the basis of current indicators. This is a challenge, and it will require serious, thoughtful and responsible work from us.
In this connection some areas of joint work are extremely important between such strategic partners as Russia and Kazakhstan. We are indeed very important partners for each other. Suffice it to say that our trade last year was almost $20 billion.
Nursultan Nazaarbayev: That's right.
Vladimir Putin: That is a major indicator. I am not talking about large projects. I am not talking about areas where our cooperation proceeds in a very special mode, as for example, space or energy. But all the other sectors are closely interconnected. The character of cooperation is very deep. So I am grateful to you for the invitation and for the invitation from the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan because we have a great deal to discuss today.
