Transcript of the Beginning of the Meeting

Vladimir Putin: Mr Chairman, I am very pleased to meet with you at this forum.

I would like to thank you once again for taking part in this forum. You not only came, but also took part in the discussion. You played a very active role in the Sochi forum, displayed your goodwill, and adopted a constructive approach. You discussed economic problems of Russia and the rest of the world with us.

Morgan Stanley is one of the biggest investment companies. It is actively working in Russia. About $215 billion passed through the hands of your specialists. I'm referring to mergers and divestitures, the sale of our companies abroad, and investment attracted to the Russian economy. About $55 billion is a figure with which a number of companies are now working with our leading energy firms.

The scale is quite large. It is worthy of a major company like yours, and your partners in Russia.

We hope that this work will continue for the benefit of both our partners and the Russian participants in these joint projects. For its part, the Russian Government will facilitate this business in every possible way.

Attracting investment and sharing technology, especially in high-tech industries such as healthcare, the pharmaceutical industry, and infrastructure development, are high on the list of priorities. I should also manage the energy industry. In the last few years, we have been actively working to reach these goals.

In conditions of the global financial and economic crisis I am tempted to recall one of our late poets, Okudzhava. He was very popular, and remains so. He wrote once: "Let's join our hands my dear friends, we won't get lost if we're together."

John Mack (as translated): Indeed, Mr Prime Minister, we did not get lost because we joined hands. I remember our first meeting, when we discussed the funding of the project by Morgan Stanley with Rosneft's participation. At that time, Rosneft was perceived as a world-class company that deserves respect.

After this IPO, I had a chance to meet with Mr Sechin. At our three or four subsequent meetings we discussed this issue more than once. I briefly touched on it in my speech at the forum. Now that prices on assets are falling, Russia has good opportunities to invest in production and establish big joint ventures on its territory.

Recently, we had a conference in New York with several large companies, including those involved with pharmaceutical research and manufacturing, such as Johnson & Johnson. There may be a possibility of setting up a joint venture for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing here in Russia. I will be more than happy to make the introductions.