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Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

We are here today above all to analyse the results of our military-technical cooperation with foreign countries in 2003.

What we can say is that military-technical cooperation is developing rapidly and we have exceeded our planned targets by 26%. What’s more, our arms and military equipment exports have broken the $5-billion mark for the first time and have reached a total of more than $5.5 billion.

I must add that our trade turnover in general has reached a record mark for the last 15 years. We had a growth rate of 25% and a total amount of $192 billion. We have had a positive foreign trade balance of $78 billion recently, and this is an absolute record for the last 12 years. Our technology imports from abroad rose by around 28%-30%, but Russia’s technology exports also increased by 11%, and military-technical cooperation accounts for almost half of this.

These are good figures, and they show that our efforts in military-technical cooperation are bringing good results and generating substantial foreign currency earnings for the country. These funds are essential for the stable development of our defence industry and for financing promising scientific research and industrial developments.

Today our country is one of the world’s five leading exporters of military goods. Our main task in this sector is to build on what we have achieved so far and move towards new successes.

Competition is increasing considerably on the world arms market today. The United States is still the leader for overall volumes of arms sales. Britain, France and Germany are actively increasing their export potential; and countries such as China, India, Israel, South Africa and Ukraine are making serious efforts to promote their products.

Russian military goods are still very competitive in terms of their price-quality ratio.

Russia strictly observes its non-proliferation commitments, but we are also firmly committed to defending our economic interests.

In this respect, we should focus particularly on expanding the range of military goods that we export and also on ensuring that our products are equipped with the very latest automation and control, reconnaissance and communications systems.

We also plan to increase the number of defence agencies authorised to export their products and services independently. But in this area we should proceed very carefully.

Another 14 companies received this authorisation last year. Their results for the year so far are modest. What is most important is that we do not end up once again in the situation we were in several years ago when we faced unfair competition on markets abroad which ultimately damaged our country’s interests. It is important, of course, that these companies become part of the military-technical cooperation system and gain the necessary experience of working in this sector. We expect these companies’ exports to increase considerably over the course of this year.

In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone working in the military-technical cooperation system for the results they have achieved, and I wish them further success in their work and in strengthening their positions on world markets.

I would also like to note that I have signed a decree on rewarding the developers and manufacturers of export-oriented military goods. This is further confirmation of the great importance the state places on the work of our scientists, designers and engineers, and all those whose talent serves to strengthen Russia’s defence potential and heighten its authority in the world.