Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s opening remarks:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today, we will discuss the concept of a new federal targeted programme to develop Russia’s state border infrastructure for 2012 – 2020.

This new federal programme will follow previously implemented plans to develop Russia’s border infrastructure. As you may recall, we have allocated 110 billion roubles to this end since 2003. I can remember very well when in 2000-2001 Mr Pronichev, head of the FSB State Border Service, other colleagues and I looked into border security arrangements in the most important areas, including the Caucasus. We found out – and it was quite unexpected for me, very surprising, indeed – that border guards had been living in dugouts for over 10 years. These were literally holes in the ground covered with boards. That’s how they had been living for over 10 years while they guarded  the state border in a very important area, the Caucasus.

In the past three years, 28 checkpoints have been commissioned, making it possible to accelerate and improve the quality of control procedures at the airports Sheremetyevo, Koltsovo, Sochi, Grozny, seaports in St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Kozmino, here at the Kavkaz port, as well as on westbound highways. Another 19 checkpoints will become operational before the end of 2011. I expect the deadlines to be observed.

I would like to mention the large amount of work done on the state border in the North Caucasus. They have commissioned state-of-the-art technical and social facilities. Overall, they have accomplished a lot and made a serious contribution to improving security in the entire region.

However, we still have a lot to do. First and foremost, we need to significantly increase the capabilities of the border infrastructure. If we do so, it will help us a lot in our fight against terrorism, cross-border crime, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and theft of biological resources.

At the same time, the border should be open and accessible for all law-abiding people, and barriers must not be put up against legitimate business transactions, cross-border cooperation or the realisation of Russia’s vast transit potential.

Unfortunately, so far we have experienced frequent congestion and queues at border checkpoints. This causes direct economic losses and is very inconvenient for travellers. We need to restore order on our borders and build a solid stepping stone to the future. To give you an idea, over 100 million people and 17 million vehicles cross Russia’s borders every year. Clearly, these cross-border flows will keep growing due to expanding trade and cultural ties; therefore, we need to accelerate the modernisation of border infrastructure, the introduction of high-tech equipment and modern border inspection procedures for individuals and goods, including one-stop arrangements.

I would like to emphasise that building this modern border infrastructure is a prerequisite for strengthening mutually beneficial relations with foreign nations, expanding cultural ties and tourism. As is known, a border checkpoint is the first impression a traveller gets of a new country, and these impressions should be positive; people should be able to pass border control as quickly and comfortably as possible.

This issue is particularly important in the run-up to major political and sporting events held in Russia in the near future. I’m talking about the APEC forum in the Far East, the World Student Games in Kazan, the Olympic Games in Sochi, the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2016 and the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

Next, efforts to improve border infrastructure should take into account future integration processes. First and foremost, I’m talking about the Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. As you know, it became operational in July. Now we need to secure reliable state control along the borders of this common customs area; therefore, I would like to ask you and our partners to focus on additional improvements to the infrastructure along the outer border. All details need to be taken into consideration, and measures should be taken promptly. Let me remind you that the common economic space will become fully operational on January 1, 2012.

There’s one more very important issue. We should focus in particular on building modern border infrastructure in the Arctic. This will significantly fortify our military and border security and improve the protection of natural resources. As we agreed with the deputy prime minister in charge of this matter and the Ministry of Finance yesterday, we plan to allocate 134 billion roubles for improving the infrastructure of the Russian state border within the next nine years. This is a significant amount, and it should be used with the utmost efficiency. Let’s get to work.