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Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

We are pleased to welcome the President of Germany and all the colleagues who have come together with him to Russia.

I don’t think this audience needs to be reminded of the importance of relations between Russia and Germany for Russia and for the European community in general. Germany is one of our major partners in the economic and political spheres.

A short while ago, opening an enlarged meeting, I said that our trade has grown by 80% in the last two years, a bigger increase than with any other country. And it is a considerable sum in absolute figures, 25 billion euros.

Germany is a major investor in the Russian economy, over 6 billion euros, but Germany is only the fifth largest investor and that means you have your job cut out for you.

By the way, one of the current problems is modern effective management. And I am pleased to note that 30% of those who have been trained in Germany now work at joint ventures. It is a very good result. It shows that the efforts both of the Russian and above all the German side have not been in vain. All these efforts are aimed at developing cooperation between the economies of Russia and Germany.

Germany is our traditional economic partner. It has always been so: “before historical materialism”, and after 1917, and especially in the past decade. German businessmen are actively moving into our market and they pursue a sound long-term policy. These are not people out to make “quick bucks” in Russia. German capital is financial capital, industrial capital, and that is very important.

Of course, as I have said, it puts a high premium on effective managers. This programme of training must continue and evolve. The training of our specialists in Western countries is important, but Western specialists must understand what conditions they will work in and have a feel of the specific environment in which they will operate, with all the minuses and pluses. Of course, there are many minuses here, but the prospects are also good. And we hope that the future is in safe hands.