Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Rakhimov, before we start discussing the social and economic situation in Bashkortostan, I'd like to congratulate you on your birthday, which was yesterday. I wish you many more.

Murtaza Rakhimov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Now, let us review the republic's socio-economic achievements.

Murtaza Rakhimov: On the whole, Bashkortostan is doing better than other regions, as I have told you already. Were it not for Salavat, we would have exceeded our targets by 5-6%. This is a pressing matter. We have not yet procured the necessary supplies from Sterlitamak Chemical Works, though we received express orders to do so by the end of November.

As for Kamaz, we have an auxiliary plant, which has started manufacturing a new product, these really wonderful buses. I wish you could have seen them!

Vladimir Putin: I will.

Murtaza Rakhimov: It manufactures buses, combine harvesters and other agricultural equipment. Another town also has a Kamaz branch.

Vladimir Putin: We will see it today.

Murtaza Rakhimov: You really should. It is a unique plant.

Everything is normal in other areas-wages, pensions, etc. Agriculture is doing especially well.

Vladimir Putin: Has it exceeded its targets?

Murtaza Rakhimov: Yes. Bashkortostan accounts for roughly 2.65 million tonnes of milk out of Russia's total 32 million.

Vladimir Putin: How many cows are there in your republic?

Murtaza Rakhimov: One million and 772 out of the 21 million nationwide. We've focused our attention on meat production now. Turkey farms are expanding. On the whole, agriculture here is making good progress.

Mr Putin, I am extremely grateful that agriculture has been made a top priority these past two years. It has been a real shot in the arm, and rural life has improved dramatically as a result.

With respect to housing, we've built 2,352,000 square metres, and we expect to add another 2.4 million next year. The very best housing-about 90% of the total-is put on the market. We intend to meet demand for one-story houses within three to four years. We award free household plots of 0.12 hectare per family. We've also taken on road and utility system construction, and we're building schools and a kindergarten.

We are assigning flats of 54, 70 or 90 square metres, depending on availability. This is a job creator, which is so important given the unemployment problem in our republic. Construction companies and private investors are spending about 700 million roubles for every 350 million roubles of government funding. So the arrangement is working on the whole.

Most importantly, the birth rate is increasing.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, the demographic situation in the republic looks good.

Murtaza Rakhimov: Not bad. On the whole, Bashkortostan is doing better than many other parts of Russia. People are working hard.

Vladimir Putin: And you're winning hockey matches.

Murtaza Rakhimov: Just yesterday's match so far, but we're hoping for a winning streak.

We built forty schools last year. That's our annual minimum. Every school has an Internet connection and fibre-optic networks. Almost the entire republic has access to round-the-clock television in two languages-Bashkir and Tatar. There's radio too. So we're keeping up in this field.