The meeting focused on the current socio-economic situation in the Novgorod Region. Mr Mitin reported to the prime minister on the state of industry and agriculture, and emphasised the progress made in the development of poultry farming and the rapid recovery in the timber and mechanical engineering industries. Speaking of the risk of wildfires in the region, Mr Mitin said the situation is under control.

Discussing public health issues, Mr Mitin told the prime minister about the current construction of a cancer hospital and plans to build clinics for perinatal and cardiological care.

The region's demographic situation was also high on the agenda. The Novgorod governor said it has been improving steadily since 2009 and that the birth rate has increased by 4.4% since then.

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Mitin, how did the first half of the year play out for you, and what is the situation like now, primarily in agriculture?

Sergei Mitin: Not bad at all, I must say. Mr Putin, with regard to industry, I'd like to thank our manufacturers a lot, as we've had a very good growth rate - 115%. As for agriculture, we performed quite well last year, too. Agriculture is not the mainstay of our region's economy, of course, but in terms of growth rates, we ranked fourth nationwide last year, with 18% growth. And I expect the same rate to be sustained throughout this year. We've got several large poultry farms up and running, and we continue to set up new ones, while at the same time upgrading existing farms. We have a large complex from Belgorod, designed to produce 66,000 metric tons of poultry. This year, they propose that we launch a waste recycling project. It's a modern process that involves waste recycling along with electricity generation. Heat, electricity - all that will go to meet the energy needs of the complex itself. To give you an example, our two-year output will likely reach 90,000-100,000 tons of meat by the end of this year. Two years ago, that figure was 24,000 tons.

Vladimir Putin: Is the weather creating any serious problems for you?

Sergei Mitin: We'll get by, hopefully. In agriculture, we've harvested very good crops, actually, both vegetables and grains - albeit we don't have much of them, yet in some areas up to 50 centners [in Russia, the centner is a unit of weight equivalent to 100 kg] has been harvested.

The biggest challenge is the risk of wildfires. We're keeping the situation under control; we had one fire recently, but we rapidly contained it. We're now working hard at the level of municipalities, and the Emergencies Ministry is providing us with a lot of support. Personally, I take weekly flights to survey the region. The situation is currently under control; even our neighbours have had wildfires, but so far we have managed to contain them right away.

Vladimir Putin: It's essential to ask the public to behave responsibly.

Sergei Mitin: Definitely, it's very important. It's actually a man-made problem. Let me cite one positive example: We've introduced a pilot project in one of the districts, asking all people entering a forest to sign a special ledger. We write down the name and the place of residence of each visitor and give them rules of conduct, which they sign. There haven't been any fires in the area since the programme began.

Vladimir Putin: What do you attribute your industrial growth to? Which industries, which businesses, which companies are the leaders?

Sergei Mitin: Mr Putin, we had a huge decline in the forest industry last year. Now we are trying to break out of the downturn and are having a growth rate of nearly  40%. We are doing rather well in mechanical engineering. We've commissioned a plant to produce special purpose cars and would like you to see it.

In 2007, we had the first test of this model and put everything in place for its assembly production. This year we are going to produce the first 300 cars of this basic model. It has a prototype in Europe; it couldn't have been completely ours, but it costs four, even four and half times less. Practically all components are Russian made, but our customers will have a choice between the English or Russian engine.

Vladimir Putin: So, all components are of Russian make, right?

Sergei Mitin: Yes, they are. Only the engine is English. We have organised such production.

Also, this year we have launched a sports centre and a cancer hospital.

Vladimir Putin: You were working on the second stage, weren't you?

Sergei Mitin: We have commissioned the second stage. I have shown what we have done to Ilya Klebanov and now we have to build the third stage - for radiation treatment.

Vladimir Putin: Do you need to build it and to install equipment?

Sergei Mitin: We need the equipment for the most part. We also have to build a section to accommodate the biggest device. This will cost 1.2 billion roubles but we are now talking with the Ministry of Healthcare. I think we have every reason to hope that Ms Golikova will include us into the Health Programme and we will receive federal support for building this third pavilion.

Vladimir Putin: The overall cost is 3 billion, isn't it?

Sergei Mitin: No, the overall cost is slightly higher; we have been building it for a while. I think it is about four billion.

Vladimir Putin: What about wages and salaries? How are you doing economically?

Sergei Mitin: Mr Putin, traditionally we have had very many pensioners, 31% of the total population. I'd like to thank you and the government for raising pensions - this measure had a very good effect here. We have raised salaries. Before, there was a big gap but during the past year and the first half of this year we surpassed the Russian Federation by one tenth in terms of growth rate. Our average wages are 16,000 roubles, and in the city they are yet higher - 19,000.

Vladimir Putin: Are there any delays in the payment of salaries?

Sergei Mitin: Delays... We had one big enterprise - the Parfino Veneer Plant. I reported about this to you last year. We put it through bankruptcy and have now restored it. It is now working actively and has a new owner. As for others... I don't think we have a problem of delays. They are occasional.

Vladimir Putin: But there are no delays in the public sector, are there?

Sergei Mitin: No, there are none.

Vladimir Putin: Let's return to healthcare. Now the Ministry of Healthcare is drafting a modernisation programme that implies solid funding. How big the need for this is in your region and will your enterprises be ready for change and for effective use of budget funds?

Sergei Mitin: Mr Putin, we had three serious problems, including oncology. Now we are tackling this problem together with the government. Moreover, our cancel hospital will be interregional. I've agreed with my counterpart from Pskov that he won't build a similar centre in his region. We can well cover for the requirements of Pskov and he can take our patients who have illnesses that can be treated better in his region. Our two regions are not far from each other and there is no point in duplication.

We have two other problems. We must build a birth centre, a perinatal centre and, of course, a cardiological one. These are the two tracks of work. The facilities are ready. We have a large regional hospital and we have invested a lot in its development. I think we can use it as a basis for the cardiological centre. We have united the maternity home with the children's regional hospital. They are both in good shape and we will turn them into a powerful regional perinatal centre.

Vladimir Putin: But I was speaking about your readiness for modernisation - the one-stop funding system, the development of the Mandatory Medical Insurance (MMI). How are you doing in this regard?

Sergei Mitin: We have no problems in this regard. We are doing very well. We have established a catering facility through the MMI system. They are preparing special meals for the patients. Now the chief doctors do not have to think about the food. This is a good technological facility - all food is put in containers and served hot. This is new and this is good.

Vladimir Putin: What about demography?

Sergei Mitin: I reported to you during our last meeting in Tambov - we have established a passport. For the first time, the death rate has started going down... We have a lot of pensioners in the region - 31% of the total. This is why our demography was bad. We registered the first changes for the better during the past year for the first time. More babies were born and fewer people died. We brought the death rate down from 12% to 10%. We are planning to do this in the future, too. Our efforts to counter cancer and cardiovascular diseases helped us quite a bit. We register every disease to see which take the biggest toll...

Vladimir Putin: What about the birth rate?

Sergei Mitin: We increased it, too. It went up by 4.4% during the past year.

Vladimir Putin: By how much?

Sergei Mitin: By 4.4%. This is very good. This year we are planning to...

Vladimir Putin: I'm pleased to hear about these trends in Central Russia.

Sergei Mitin: I think my main mission is to make sure that people in Central Russia do not live below the standards of other regions.

Vladimir Putin: What about pre-school day-care centres?

Sergei Mitin: We are second in Russia in the number of such centres. I think this is rather good.

Vladimir Putin: So, you have a problem but it is not urgent, right?

Sergei Mitin: No, it isn't. Of course, we must repair kindergartens and build new ones but we don't have kids on the waiting list for many years.

Vladimir Putin: Good.