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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, colleagues, good afternoon,

We meet on a regular basis to exchange views on the developments in the global economy and primarily in the national economy. We discuss matters that preoccupy the entire business community. Together, we analyse tasks that call for joint efforts by the government and businesses.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that companies you represent are what we call systemically important enterprises. They are part of complex cooperation and trade chains in Russia and beyond. In the course of your business activities you experience first-hand the challenges the national economy and the global markets face.

You are well aware that the global economic recovery has so far been extremely unstable. Moreover, it could stumble upon new acute hurdles.

The epidemiological situation is challenging. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Russia and in many other countries as well, and a number of them have introduced lockdowns, with companies coming to a halt or switching over to remote work on a massive scale. This also includes restrictions in everyday life, which affects many sectors of the economy.

It is obvious that in this context the question of what can be done to mitigate the economic and other consequences of the epidemic deserves special attention.

I would just like to note once again: well-coordinated joint efforts of the state, businesses, public organisations and all citizens, their understanding of common responsibility for how this country will pass this difficult and strenuous period are in this respect extremely vital.

I would like to emphasise that protection of life and health of our people must always be in the focus of attention – I have said this many times and want to stress it once again. This is an absolutely key premise that underlies our entire work during the pandemic.

Today, I would like to ask you to give an update on how your companies are implementing measures to protect their workers, their staff from the risks of the epidemic and what you are doing to make sure people stay healthy.

And, of course, now that business connections and the smooth work of companies are undergoing the test of strength, it is particularly important to ensure jobs and wages for our people, and to protect the wellbeing of Russian families and their confidence in the future.

I would like to recall that we have already amassed experience on supporting major, backbone companies and key industries of the national economy. This concerns construction, the light and automobile industries, transport and communications that employ millions of our people.

We created these mechanisms of supporting business and workforce and launched them in spring via direct dialogue with entrepreneurs and the leading business associations, including the RSPP, for which I am very grateful to you.

This is very important for resolving our current tasks but in the process we must not forget about the future development and the build-up of capital investment, which determine the destiny of companies and their positions on the market. As for their problems, we will also discuss them today.

Let’s get going with our meeting, our discussion.

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