22 august 2008

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on drafting the concept of long-term national development until 2020

Vladimir Putin

Meeting on drafting the concept of long-term national development until 2020 and the guidelines for the Russian Government’s work until 2012

Participants:
"Our strategic goal is to ensure sustainable innovative development, to provide better educational and health-care opportunities, to improve the environment and to reliably guarantee the security of Russian citizens."

Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:

Good afternoon,

This meeting aims to draft the concept of Russia's long-term socio-economic development until 2020. As I have already said, these issues were first raised this February at an enlarged State Council meeting. Today, we will also discuss the guidelines of the Russian Government's work until 2012.

Our strategic goal is to ensure sustainable innovative development, to provide better educational and health-care opportunities, to improve the environment and to reliably guarantee the security of Russian citizens.

Eight years ago, we drafted a long-term strategy for the 2006-2009 period.

Ms Elvira Nabiullina, who is nodding, took an active part in drafting that four-year programme.

Today, we are setting new objectives because most objectives stipulated by our strategy until 2010 have been accomplished. This allows us to look beyond 2010 and to chart specific goals until 2020.

Naturally, this plan should reflect our perception of the prospects and priorities of national development in the next ten years, helping to formulate sectoral plans and programmes and setting forth priorities for business, science, education and civil-society institutions. Moreover, the document should assess future economic threats and challenges.

The long-term national development concept stipulates the following key tasks:

-- increasing average life expectancy to 75 years;
-- stopping negative population growth;
-- reducing mortality rates.

First of all, we must keep in mind that mortality rates are the highest among the active segments of the population.

Real popular incomes are expected to soar by 100-150% in the next decade. The current 6% share of innovative industrial products must reach 25%.

We must overhaul the health care and pension systems, implement infrastructure development programmes and ensure Russia's rational integration into the global trade system. Economic growth is the only way to accomplish all these objectives. Labour productivity, a key parameter, should soar by 200%-300%.

The concept was drafted by the Russian Economic Development Ministry and discussed by scientists and representatives of sectoral associations. I hope that it reflects all of their constructive proposals.

The guidelines of the Russian Government's work being examined at this meeting must become an action plan for implementing the long-term development concept's first stage until 2012.

This managerial document will envision specific government projects for the next four years.

The guidelines will also help chart federal-budget priorities.

And, finally, every project included in the guidelines must have specific parameters for assessing the performance of federal agencies.

Let's see whether we have drafted top-quality and fundamental documents and whether any of their aspects require additional discussion and coordination.