RUSSIA, April 1 - The meeting took place as part of the preparations for the Government’s annual report to the State Duma.

Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks:

Mr Nechayev, colleagues,

Today we continue our meetings with the parliamentary parties of the State Duma, which we hold traditionally before the Government’s report to the State Duma.

We have already discussed a whole package of issues and proposals with MPs. I am confident that ideas and practices that will be presented by the New People parliamentary party will also facilitate our constructive interaction and help us find new effective solutions.

The priorities announced by the deputies largely determine our decisions because the views presented here are based on the requirements of our people. As the President noted, it is important to use this feedback for cooperation with a view to reaching the goals set.

One of the impressive examples of such cooperation is active participation in drafting a federal budget for the current year and 2025 and 2026. Your parliamentary party conducted intensive dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development. You promoted various proposals to support businesses and create conditions for developing private initiatives in Russia. Incidentally, this is reflected in the amendments submitted for the second reading.

Together with other deputies, we took measures to create a system for educating highly skilled personnel. We allocated an additional 9 billion roubles for the production and training centres. At these venues, colleges and companies will help students to acquire the necessary experience of studying technical sciences and technological processes.

We have practically doubled the funding of two-year courses for high school and secondary vocational school students. At these courses, they will receive an opportunity to learn programming languages, which is of particular interest for both them and their employers.

Assistance to research in universities is very important. We provided for allocations of 1.5 billion roubles for establishing or promoting engineering developments centres. These funds will be spent on grants to purchase high-tech equipment and innovative software. Not only universities but also various research organisations will be able to use these funds.

This support means real investment into the future success of domestic industry, science and education. I would like to thank you again for effective cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The I’m in Business programme is an important area of our cooperation. Mr Nechayev, you have been involved in it for several years now. It allows young people to study gratis in order to understand how to open a business, their own startup. Over 180,000 university and high school students from 72 regions of the country have already acquired the necessary knowledge.

This is a very important, in-demand project. A year ago, you invited me to attend the final of this programme before the Government’s report. Last May, I was very pleased to communicate with its participants in a Moscow technology park. We saw many amazing new projects and developments. Young people that study there are very open, vigorous and innovative, I’d say. Many graduates are already doing business. They have won grants and made their dreams come true.

Of course, only those who traversed this road can suggest such well-thought-out, understandable instruments and a detailed development plan. Now relying on their own experience and developments, they are helping young people to become budding business people.

We are seeing your active participation in the projects on modernising the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and supporting small and medium-sized businesses there. In cooperation with deputies from other parliamentary parties, you ensured the required amendments of the legislation.

It is very important to promote private initiatives, especially now that we must enhance our technological, financial, economic, and industrial sovereignty. And, of course, the New People are making an active contribution to reaching these goals.

That said, your party is also doing much for sectoral development. I would like to say a few words separately about domestic tourism.

The State Duma relevant committee headed by Sangadzhi Tarbayev is successfully interacting with my Deputy Dmitry Chernyshenko and the Ministry of Economic Development.

I would like to make a special mention of the promotion of agro-tourism. It can become an additional source of income for rural residents and promote regional food brands. Last year, we supported 73 projects in this vein in over half of all Russian regions.

I would like to thank you for supporting the Government’s initiative that expands opportunities of businesses in this area. The document has already passed through the first reading. It was drafted following meetings with representatives of this industry. Farmers were upset that in the past they did not have the right to rent out temporary accommodation in their houses. Now the draft is being prepared for the second reading. We hope it will be soon adopted.