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In particular, one of the subjects examined at the meeting concerned spending on transport infrastructure development. Financing will continue for sites already under construction, but the decision was made not to begin any new construction projects next year.

The meeting also decided to keep the same number and increase the wages of inspectors responsible for checking aircraft, and to support aircraft leasing programmes for regional transport needs. Mr Medvedev gave the instruction to examine this issue at a meeting in Yaroslavl.

Investment programmes for single-industry towns were a separate subject of discussion. The meeting decided in favour of investment programmes to develop an additional 15 single-industry towns. The funds will be allocated by the end of the year on a co-financing basis with the regions. 

All of the remarks and clarifications made at the meeting will be taken into account at the next Government meeting, which will also examine the budget.

Taking part in the meeting were Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Naryshkin, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich, Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin, Transport Minister Igor Levitin, and Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon, colleagues.

We met on September 5 to discuss a range of budget policy issues and agreed then that we would come back to the matter of investment spending in the draft budget for 2012 and the 2013–2014 budget plan. 

We agreed at that last meeting to make a detailed analysis of the money earmarked for these purposes. I would like to hear today about what has and has not been taken into account.

”Successful technological modernisation requires public investment, but it has to be a carefully calculated investment that will serve as the catalyst for attracting an inflow of private investment too.“

Our priorities remain unchanged of course: successful technological modernisation requires public investment, but it has to be a carefully calculated investment that will serve as the catalyst for attracting an inflow of private investment too, into the various industrial sectors, and not just state funds alone.

The single-industry towns are another complex issue. Comprehensive investment programmes to diversify and modernise these towns’ economies are being carried out on the basis of co-financing from the regional and federal budgets. In a number of cases this investment has stimulated business activity and given these towns an added economic boost, which is good. I remind you that state-supported investment programmes were being carried out in 35 single-industry towns in 2010, and in 2011 another 15 towns were added to this list.

We need to make a complete analysis of these programmes’ implementation and decide on what we should and should not do, what is effective and what is not. In any event, we must continue giving this matter our attention because we are aware of just how difficult the social situation remains in the single-industry towns, and we realise that they require particular measures to lift them out of this difficult situation. 

Let’s start work then, continuing on from what we agreed on two weeks ago.