Transcript of the beginning of the meeting: 

Vladimir Putin: Mr Chudinov, I am happy to meet with you here in Moscow during the Eurasec meeting. Russian-Kyrgyz relations are developing successfully. Our bilateral trade hit the $2 billion mark last year-but that was one of the fat years. Trade will certainly be on the decline now, to an extent.

However, I see our principal duty in retaining the level of our partnership, reducing the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis to the smallest possible, and arranging our work on ambitious projects in the bilateral format and the multilateral one, in the Eurasec.

We have signed essential documents on high-tech partnership today. We have similar bilateral projects-mainly in the energy industry.

Our financial partnership is also developing. Kyrgyzstan has received a $150 million grant and a $300 million preferential credit. We are determined to implement all our investment plans on major projects. We count on reciprocity and teamwork with our Kyrgyz partners.

Igor Chudinov: Thank you, Mr Putin.

I would like to start with congratulating you from the bottom of my heart on the approaching Russia Day of June 12.

I also want to express satisfaction with the impetus our relations received with the latest visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Kyrgyzstan, with the signing of the February agreements on the preferential credit and the $150 million grant and, what matters most, with the beginning of practical partnership in the construction of the giant Kambaraty-1 hydropower plant.

This partnership and its practical form were put in doubt-but the establishment of the Board of Directors and the company Board has shown that we can cooperate openly and assuredly in this field, as well. There are no obstacles to such partnership. What matters even more, I think we have shifted the emphasis of our partnership to investment. That is essential. That was the goal we posed at the meeting of the Russian-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Commission, and we are making progress in this direction.

I want to stress again that Kyrgyzstan is willing to diversify our contacts and no longer limit them to major energy projects. We should come close to partnership in such spheres as agriculture. We have stored sufficient experience in investing in the energy industry, and I think we have an opportunity for close ties in agriculture.

Such partnership would help to preserve the available scope of bilateral trade, and this sphere has a considerable potential.

I would like to discuss all those questions today.