Transcript of the speech:
Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen,
Today we are attending a very important and pleasant event: the inauguration of a new intercontinental sea route, which will link Russia and Ecuador, Russia and Latin America, and which involves the direct participation of our Danish partners. The Maersk Line, one of the biggest container services, is carrying out this project with Russia's and Ecuador's support.
This is not simply the opening of a new intercontinental line. As has just been mentioned, this creates new opportunities for business, trade and investment in its broadest sense.
I hope that this will result in consumer prices being curbed, including on the price of tropical fruit because the number of shipping days will have been reduced and there will be no need to transfer cargoes in neighboring countries. This will reduce the costs of the entire production process, in this case, the transportation costs, something that will be good for consumers.
This is a major project for Russia because, as you well know, we have recently focused investment on transportation infrastructure. Despite the difficult circumstances brought on by the global financial and economic crisis, which peaked in 2009, and despite the general fall in production and shipping in some areas, not only have cargo transfers in Russian ports not declined, they have actually increased. The minister [Transportation Minister Igor Levitin] said that cargo transfers have increased by 4% here in the North-West and by 9% in Russia as a whole. This is a very good indicator in general and even more so during the crisis.
I think that the government has contributed to this result by continuing to invest in developing transportation. We have some quite good hubs in the North-West, here in St Petersburg, for one. A new oil transfer port has been built in Primorsk practically from scratch. A big construction project is being carried out not far from here: in Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Region. We also have good hubs on the Black Sea coast.
We are investing handsome sums in developing our transportation infrastructure in the Far East. Quite recently, a new oil transfer port was opened in Kozmino as my colleagues know: I attended the ceremony. We are also working in some other areas.
As a whole, about 800 billion roubles have been invested into Russia's transportation system in the past year despite the crisis.
I'd like to emphasize once again that the work that today we see getting underway demonstrates our continued commitment to transportation development. We invite our foreign partners to take an active role in all these projects. Our foreign friends and partners are working with us on this and in other capacities in practically in all sectors. Danish companies, for instance, are taking an active part in the modernization of port facilities here in St Petersburg, in Kaliningrad and in Baltiisk.
I'd like to wish all the project's participants success, and reassure you that we, that is, the Russian and Danish governments, will give you every support.
I wish you success. Thank you very much!