Address by Vladimir Putin:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

I am truly pleased today, not only because we have completed a major construction project but also because we have established an innovative institution to combat serious diseases and help patients affected by cancer.

You perform a very important job in fighting for human lives and wellbeing. Malignant tumours rank first in terms of morbidity and are the second leading cause of death in Russia. Unfortunately, the trends don’t look good. The number of children affected by cancer grew by 1% in 2010. The completion of such a large-scale project in Russia is a landmark event by all accounts, but it’s just a small part of what we are doing for healthcare, including the treatment of cancer. This is not just a new clinic but rather an international platform through which professionals like you can engage in collaborative studies and provide treatment to patients.

Please accept my congratulations. I would like to say that the clinic and its equipment are very important. You cannot work, treat patients, or conduct studies without it. However, the people who use this equipment are much more important. I already said this at the opening ceremony, and I will repeat it again here: since 2005, we have been conducting a special programme in healthcare. In the run-up to this centre’s completion, the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development trained 96 doctors and 54 researchers to work here. All of this was accomplished in addition to extensive practical work across Russia.

Let me congratulate everyone present in the audience, both Russian experts and our foreign friends and partners, on the opening of the centre and say that this clinic is to be a home to all of you. Welcome to the centre, and thank you very much.