Agenda: Enhancing the country’s technological independence, supporting agriculture processing facilities, implementing the Far Eastern concession project and providing more affordable flights for residents of the Far East.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Meeting with Deputy Prime Ministers
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
Today, we will start our meeting with ways of enhancing the country’s technological independence. Just last week we discussed a mechanism for supporting major research and development projects from scratch. New decisions have been adopted today.
The Government is launching additional tools for projects aimed at developing vital components for key sectors, primarily manufacturing equipment for the oil and gas, and energy sectors generally, as well as heavy-duty machinery and equipment for the machine-tool, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
We will facilitate the development of research documentation and records, as well as everything else needed to organise mass production of home-made materials, items, components and tools that are still being purchased abroad. Special grants will be used for this purpose.
Over the next three years, we are to spend at least 3.6 billion roubles for these purposes. The agency for Technological Development will allocate the grants.
It is important to effectively implement import substitution programmes.
The President has repeatedly noted this. We need the relevant infrastructure for this purpose. At the same time, we will start financing the modernisation and expansion of engineering development centres that have been established at universities and research institutes. They are to receive modern laboratory and production equipment as well as the necessary software, and sufficient computing capacity will also be purchased. We will allocate at least 1.5 billion roubles for these purposes over the next three years.
We hope the new measures will make it possible to considerably expand domestic production of vital industrial items more quickly.
Yet another issue is how to render extra support to investors in agro-processing.
We have an operational comprehensive system that makes it possible for agribusiness to get short- and longer-term loans at favourable rates to implement investment projects. Their repayment period can be rather long in a number of sectors. But these borrowers were not eligible for extra support until they repaid easy-term loans.
It has been decided to remove these restrictions for certain entrepreneurs, primarily those engaged in the production and processing of fish, crustaceans and clams, as well as for producers of dry milk products. Both categories in addition will be able to apply for subsidies, with which to reimburse part of their direct expenses on creating or upgrading agro-processing facilities.
We will also lift this restriction for companies investing in the processing of oil crops in the Russian Far East, something that will make it possible to raise the agriculture industry’s technological levels in this federal district.
The Government has signed the relevant resolution. We hope that it will help farmers to improve the quality and expand the range of products for the benefit of Russian consumers, while the development of processing industries will create new jobs, including in the Russian Far East.
There is much attention paid to the socioeconomic development of the Far Eastern Federal District. A lot of effort is directed at creating comfortable living conditions and a favourable business environment. A number of preferential regimes have been developed for companies, as well as mechanisms for attracting private financial resources to the district’s regions. These include the Far Eastern concession that was launched last year. This form of public-private partnership will help to create new social infrastructure facilities, like schools, kindergartens, outpatient clinics, residential areas, public utilities and roads.
Yet another important project is directed at solving a rather difficult problem facing residents of the Russian Far East. I am referring to the high cost of airline tickets. Not so long ago, it was quite costly for many people to travel even within the district itself, let alone to reach Moscow, St Petersburg or Crimea for rest and recreation.
The United Far Eastern Airline was established slightly more than a year ago to provide residents of Far Eastern regions with affordable flights on socially significant routes.
President Putin has defined the Far East’s advanced development as a priority for this country. A range of programmes is being implemented in the district that are aimed at creating decent living standards and a favourable environment for business and tourism. It is highly important to effectively implement all planned measures and obligations to the people of Russia. Please, colleagues, do focus on this.
