Opening remarks by Vladimir Putin:
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues,
We will look at a range of issues pertaining to the development and optimisation of the country's nuclear sector, including nuclear weapons. We'll discuss measures to ensure the sector's stability during the global financial and economic crisis.
The government allocates substantial resources under defence programmes to support an effective nuclear force, and develops policies to ensure reliability and timely upgrade of our forces.
We have seriously restructured the industry. A state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has been established, along with its subsidiaries. Many of the country's largest nuclear related firms and companies have been assigned to the state corporation.
Rosatom management is implementing ambitious plans to make nuclear companies more effective, to modernise and retool them. This fully applies to the nuclear weapons industry.
One tool being used is the consolidation of companies. This helps avoid redundance in support services and promotes the efficient use of production facilities and equipment. This approach is certainly effective; the company we are visiting here is an eloquent example. The recent merger of the Dukhov Automation Institute and the Research Institute of Pulse Technique provides the efficiencies I was describing.
The institute we are visiting is also preparing for incorporation. In compliance with the law on Rosatom corporation, all related divisions are required to shed the obsolete "federal unitary enterprise" legal form of organisation, increase financial transparency and introduce modern corporate management standards.
In addition, defence companies will be allowed to develop civil production projects and implement lucrative market projects.
This company is already 30%-geared to civil needs, including nuclear and thermal power engineering. Automated systems designed by this institute are used in nine countries. The planned corporate form reorganisation will certainly produce and even greater effect.
Let us discuss the issues.