"I should emphasise that there has been a strong foundation created to foster our business partnership; an effective cooperative structure has been formed; and that commodity turnover is on the rise. Measured at the end of the second half of 2008, the accumulated volume of direct investments from France equalled $1.7 billion. We endorse French investment in the Russian economy."
"More and more new French companies that come to the Russian market have long-term investment plans. Alstom, Alcatel, VINCI and many other French companies invest not only in the projects of the Moscow Region, but, as we have just heard at the meeting with businessmen, in many regions of Russian Federation."
"I would like to tell you that at the end of the meeting we signed a series of documents strengthening the legal basis of our relations. Among them is an agreement on youth exchanges and joint implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, plus a statement on a partnership in education, research, and innovation. We also concluded an agreement on legal aid between the Prosecutor-General's Office of Russia and the Ministry of Justice of France."
Events for 19 september 2008
"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 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."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met his Belgian counterpart Yves Leterme in Sochi
"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."
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon
"It is a real pleasure to have all our supply agreements being observed at the highest level. Even more important is that the sales turnover between our countries grew nearly threefold during the past five years, to be more precise, 2.8 times. In absolute units, this figure could even exceed what we currently have. The following lines of cooperation appear promising: aviation, space, transport infrastructure, agriculture, engineering industries, chemistry, culture and education."
Events for 18 september 2008
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting with top executives of foreign companies
"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."
