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Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.

On tomorrow's agenda for the State Council are issues of transport policy.

We have addressed these problems several times, including within the framework of the State Council. We will systematically analyse the transport policy, and taking into account the current economic realities, we will talk about the priorities of a modern transport policy.

In connection with this, at the State Council we should not spend much time discussing existing departmental problems, but rather fundamental approaches to forming a full and effective transport policy.

I would like to note that our plans in this sphere should be directly linked with the strategy of developing production forces. And they should be carried out with a clear understanding of the system-forming role of transport in solving important social, defence and international tasks.

One of the tasks for the State Council is to discuss the role of the state in the development of transport. It is clear that the market factor will only continue to grow. And so we should discuss the optimal size of state property in transport, methods for interacting with private business, and also adequate legal regulation in the area, including improving the anti-monopoly and license policy.

A very important task that we should examine today is the development of an optimal model of financing transport projects. I expect that the capabilities of the state budget and private capital should be flexibly combined here. They should be combined and function properly as the role of investment in the transport system grows. I should point out that there are examples of effective commercial investment and high revenues from transport projects.

We need to think about new forms for long-term projects and planning in transport, and about stimulating innovations and creating favourable investment conditions. So far, the lack of serious progress in all these areas has slowed down the development of this industry, which is an extremely promising industry for Russia.

I would also like to discuss the possibility of integrating all kinds of transport into a single mechanism, and issues of unifying administration systems. We must also not forget about the drawbacks of existing transport technology. Effective work in these areas will not only speed up the flow of goods, but also significantly reduce transport expenses in the economy as a whole.

And finally, security in transport and the protection of the transport system itself remains a serious problem.

I have outlined the main approaches to this topic in a general form. Tomorrow, we will hold a more detailed discussion. I would ask you today to state which issues seem relevant and important.

I would also like to thank the members of the Presidium for their joint work.

Thank you.