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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Elena Borisovna, I have signed a Decree appointing you Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

You have worked for a long time on problems in rural areas and agricultural production. In my view you have done well. We worked together in these areas at a time when I was more actively involved in national projects, in particular on the supply of agricultural machinery to farmers. In this sense you have the necessary experience to deal with the organisation of agro-industrial activities in the country. I wish you every success!

I know that today our situation is rendered that much more difficult by the financial crisis. It has exacerbated a number of problems that have been building up for decades in the countryside. These involve issues concerning financing and obtaining affordable loans, the sort of problems that we have in fact been working on lately and with which we have had some success.

So you are taking over a large and troublesome enterprise. At the same time, this work requires paying strict attention to people, to those who live and work in the countryside: in our country they make up almost a third of the population. And I hope that you will be able to monitor on a regular, daily basis what happens in the rural areas and agricultural production in general, in order to make the necessary decisions and to find the most effective way to implement them.

I am also sure that you will have the total cooperation and support of your colleagues in the Government Cabinet, and that you will continue the work that has been carried out in recent years, including the period that we are going through now.

Minister of Agriculture Elena Skrynnik: Thank you very much, Dmitry Anatolyevich.

I would like to assure you that the Ministry of Agriculture will work in an open, orderly, transparent and effective manner.

I know that I'm taking up the post as spring planting begins, and thus I’ll be personally overseeing how this work proceeds by visiting and working directly with producers in rural areas.

Dmitry Medvedev: The main thing is not to lose contact, as they say, not to lose your connection with the land, because your Ministry requires regular and continuous contact with agricultural producers. They are very sensitive about it.

Let me wish you every success once again.

Elena Skrynnik: Thank you very much for your trust and confidence in me.