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Agricultural Minister Alexei Gordeyev reported the situation in the agro-industrial sector and progress in harvesting. Among other things, he said that this year Russia would have enough grain and of a better quality than last year. He also said that the vegetable crop would be larger than in the previous year.

President Putin called attention to the fact that some of the traditional CIS partners were experiencing grain difficulties. After recalling that Russia was already helping Ukraine, he instructed the Cabinet to consider helping Moldova as well.

The President asked the Ministers to continue their work on moving the federal budget law for 2004 through parliament, whose draft provides for increased spending on national defence, the judiciary, law enforcement, health and education.

He also urged the Government not to slacken efforts with their counterparts from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine in establishing a Common Economic Space. He stressed that the CES was not an insider association but an attempt at a higher level of cooperation and integration within the CIS. While informing the ministers of the CES agreement signed in Yalta on September 19, the President noted that it provided for the creation of a new, sophisticated but effective decision-making mechanism.

Other international issues discussed included upcoming Russian-Kyrgyz negotiations during a visit by President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan to Moscow. President Putin said that today during his meeting with the Kyrgyz President they would sign an agreement on the opening of a Russian airbase in Kant, which would mark the first step towards formalising the Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan. Mr Putin also noted that the situation in Central Asia, though calm, was not that simple, and therefore the base was needed not only by Russia but also by its CIS partners.