Government meeting

The agenda included items dealing with technology policy, supporting businesses in Russia's Far East and a performance review of the heating season.

Mikhail Mishustin's opening remarks:

The Government is committed to carrying on with its efforts to promote and shape the country's technological sovereignty. The President has emphasised the imperative to boost this sovereignty on multiple occasions, saying that this can be achieved by supporting research and promising start-ups within the country, as well as by introducing innovative manufacturing solutions across the board.

The Government has drafted a law on technology policy, which is expected to serve as a foundation for achieving the goals as set forth by the President in his Address to the Federal Assembly.

Among other things, it introduces long-term development planning for the technology sector and defines a single set of terms and approaches for all the corresponding stages, from research to delivering the finished product to the end user. Major research institutions and corporations will now be part of this process. The draft law also provides for a unified approach to supporting Russian designers and imposes a binding commitment to produce results. What lies at the core of this document is making sure that every project is completed and the results of the research and development efforts are introduced in industry and the economy in general.

We hope that these measures help create competitive domestically manufactured high-technology products and streamline cooperation with manufacturers. This is the main condition for resolving major social and economic challenges, primarily that of improving the living standards for our people.

The next item on our agenda deals with supporting Russia's Far East.

The President has said that this macro region offers businesses a wealth of opportunities for undertaking major ventures.

The Government has already enacted tax and customs preferences to make projects pursued by investors operating in priority development zones and the Free Port of Vladivostok more attractive. These benefits include offering a reduced rate for social security contributions of about 7 percent for a ten-year period.

Companies operating in these zones can also postpone these preferences for a period of up to three years. This measure is designed to give them the time they need to prepare estimates, equip their manufacturing facilities, buy equipment and hire contractors. This way, they can start using these preferences once their factories are up and running. Those who registered in these priority development zones since 1 January 2023 are eligible to that provision.

But now we will offer this opportunity to all other entities, i.e., those who registered in this status before 2023, just as the President has instructed us. This way, they will also be able to start operating in this low-rate environment later down the road.

This will help businesses use their savings to expand their manufacturing operations and offer more cutting-edge products and services.

Colleagues, during today's meeting we will also have a performance review of the past heating season, even if it is yet to be completed in some regions. However, in most regions the warm weather has set in, by and large, so central heating could be turned off.

Overall, this has been quite a regular heating season for most energy and utilities companies. Still, there were some accidents, mostly caused by extreme weather conditions and equipment failures.

The average time it took them to deal with accidents affecting the housing and utilities infrastructure has declined by almost 18 percent, but despite this progress we need to ensure that the response and repair efforts are completed at an even faster pace. Moreover, we must carefully examine all these accidents in every detail in order to prevent them from happening again.

The President has made a special point about making preparations for the heating season on time.

We will review this performance during today's meeting, including what we must do to prepare energy and utilities companies for the next winter so that people, social institutions and manufacturing sites have electric power, heat and water. We must also run a comprehensive check of our utilities infrastructure and provide for its preventive maintenance. Most of this effort is carried out during the summer months. This is to say that we must do this well in advance, which means right now.

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