Vladimir Putin's speech:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I'll have to start my speech with a question. Mr Karmazinov (general director of Vodokanal St. Petersburg and president of the National Union of Water Treatment) whom I've known for ages has just said here that such large-scale measures on the purification of water have not been taken since 1917.

So what was done in 1917 to create sewers and water treatment facilities? We know from Mikhail Bulgakov's novel "Heart of a Dog" that serious people came to power, however, as far as I know, they were disposing of something else.

But we have gathered today to discuss this issue, which has become very urgent for Russia and other countries in the last few years. And this is why I'm very glad to welcome the guests and participants of the 2nd Pure Water International Forum here in Moscow.

Last year, leading experts from many countries began a serious dialogue, at Russia's initiative, on this problem that is becoming increasingly important, that is, ensuring the accessibility of clean water.

It is important that your forum has become a good platform for the exchange of ideas on this issue between representatives of the government, the business community, public agencies and scientists. The forum has given a new dimension to international cooperation in the use of both national and global water resources. It has become increasingly apparent that we need to hold a broad discussion and elaborate uniform approaches to water management. It is extremely important to avoid a one-sided position in this respect. Water is a key component of the environmental balance of the planet, and it's a symbol of mutual understanding and interdependence in the world. The conservation of water resources directly depends on a responsible, mature position from every country, without exception.

The world's demand for water - I don't know whether this figure was quoted here or not - already exceeds half of the average annual flow of all rivers on the planet. More than 2.5 billion people do not have enough water and it is clear that water shortages will only become worse with the growth of the population and the development of cities.

Russia abounds in water supplies. It has almost a quarter of the world's fresh water resources and more than 30,000 water reservoirs with a total volume of over 800 cubic kilometres. Every year about 10% of the flow of the world's rivers exists on Russia's territory.

However, this obvious abundance of water does not make us immune to problems. The sources of water are distributed unevenly on our territory and do not always meet modern standards of quality. In this context, I'll have to repeat what has already been said by those who spoke before me. We appreciate cooperation with our partners. Much has been done in the course of our cooperation with the European Union (EU) and the Baltic countries to purify water that is then discharged into the Baltic Sea. The latter's problems have become very urgent recently.

This issue in Russia and in adjacent countries has compelled us to pay special attention to the water industry. We approved a national water strategy extending until 2020 a little more than a year ago. This strategy determines the main objectives for the development of the water industry in this country. We are planning to conduct a large-scale modernisation of the water industry, beginning with the adjustment of the relevant legal standards and the system of government control and ending with the reconstruction of the entire water supply infrastructure. We will thus channel substantial investments into ensuring the security of hydro-technical facilities and enhancing the safety of water resources. We will utilise innovative technology as much as possible for water management. It is important that these efforts have a serious scientific foundation. We intend to involve our leading experts and major research centres in this work. We are also planning to develop international cooperation in research.

The strategy clearly defines Russia's place in the world water market. Today it is just beginning to take shape, and we'll try to make the best use of the competitive advantage of our water potential. Based on this strategy, we are drafting a concept for a federal targeted programme for developing our water industry in 2012-2020, which will enable us to effectively use and protect our water facilities.

The Pure Water Federal Targeted Programme sets the task of supplying the population with quality drinking water. It is designed to encourage the drafting of effective water management projects, particularly at the regional level. At present, the programme has been submitted to the government and will be carried out from 2011 to 2017. Funding for the programme has already been included in the federal budget. This is not an enormous amount, but still a rather large sum of nine billion roubles, which is equivalent to about $300 million.

However, it is not enough to guarantee everyone equal access to clean water. It is also necessary to change the general approach to the use of water and this applies, in particular, to society. A careful and sparing attitude to water must become a common practice, and consistent work with the younger generation is especially important in this respect.

The first step has already been taken. I know that your forum is going to launch an interesting project. All secondary and vocational schools in Russia will have a lesson on pure water before the end of this year. It goes without saying that the government will provide complete support to the initiatives aimed at developing an informed and responsible attitude to water in society.

UN resolutions also emphasise the importance of sustainable practices in the use of water resources. In 2005, the UN announced the beginning of the International Decade for Action Water for Life. Its main goal is to unite public opinion around the world and to pool the efforts of the world community in conserving global water resources.

Your forum is fully committed to this goal, and I'm convinced that you will put promising ideas and interesting projects on the agenda of international cooperation.

I'd like to reassure all participants in the forum that our government, ministries and departments will carefully consider your recommendations.

I'd like to thank you for your decision to hold this forum in Moscow and wish you good luck. Thank you for your attention. Thank you very much.