Excerpts from the transcript:

Dmitry Medvedev: Madame Secretary General of the ICAO Fang Liu,

I am pleased to meet you. We cooperate with ICAO and consider it a very important international venue for resolving issues related to developing air transport and civil aviation. Of course, your visit, your talks with my colleagues that deal with these issues and your participation in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum will promote ICAO’s reputation and help enhance aviation security on both international and domestic routes because in its activities the Russian Federation is guided not only by its national laws but also by international conventions and a wide range of international decisions on air traffic and its security.

Let me welcome you in Russia and wish a successful stay.

Fang Liu (via interpreter): Thank you very much, your Excellency.

First, I would like to thank you sincerely for inviting me to take part in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. I believe ICAO’s participation in SPIEF will be useful for all of its participants and will promote the sustainable and safe development of international civil aviation. As you have just said, ICAO is indeed an important international venue, a UN body dealing with international transport development. You are an important partner for us as a member the ICAO Council and a major power developing civil aviation. 

The signing of the Protocol will make it possible to ensure a higher level of safety for the navigation of Russian and Japanese warships and aircraft flights in direct proximity to each other outside territorial seas.

Reference

Submitted by the Russian Defence Ministry.

The directive approves the Defence Ministry’s recommendation that Russia sign the draft Protocol between the Government of Russia and the Government of Japan on amending the Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas of 13 October 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol).

The Protocol clarifies the existing legal basis for ensuring the predictability and safety of operations by warship and aircraft crews of both countries during navigation outside territorial waters and flights in the airspace over them.

The signing of the Protocol will make it possible to ensure a higher level of safety for the navigation of Russian and Japanese warships and aircraft flights in direct proximity to each other outside territorial seas.

The satellite is intended to achieve objectives under the European Commission’s Copernicus Programme and will be used to obtain data on the composition of the earth’s atmosphere and study the climate and the quality of the atmospheric air. After reaching its designated orbit, it will be added to the national register of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Reference  

Prepared by the Roscosmos state corporation in keeping with the Russian Federation Law On Space Activity.

The directive approves an array of measures to ensure the launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome of the Sentinel-5P research satellite (European Space Agency) (hereinafter referred to as Sentinel-5P). It provides in particular for the provision of services involving Russian Defence Ministry assets and granting foreign specialists access to facilities related to the launch.

Sentinel-5P was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. It is intended to achieve objectives under the European Commission’s Copernicus Programme and will be used to obtain data on the composition of the earth’s atmosphere and study the climate and the quality of the atmospheric air. When it reaches its designated orbit, the satellite will be included in the ESA’s national register.

All launch operations will be financed from private sources. 

The communications satellite will be used for the provision of television, corporate networks and telephone services in South and Central America.

Reference

Prepared by the Roscosmos state corporation in keeping with the Russian Federation Law On Space Activity.

The directive approves an array of measures to ensure the launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome of the Amazonas-5 telecommunications satellite (Spain) (hereinafter referred to as Amazonas-5). It provides in particular for the provision of services involving Russian Defence Ministry assets and granting foreign specialists access to facilities related to the launch.

Amazonas-5 was manufactured by Space System Loral (US) under contract with Hispasat (Spain). It is designed to provide television, corporate networks and telephone services in South and Central America. When it reaches its designated orbit, the satellite will be included in Brazil’s national register.

All launch operations will be financed from private sources. 

The meeting focused on the Commonwealth’s current activity, including cooperation in innovation, intellectual property protection, and countering the production and distribution of counterfeit products.

Delegation heads present at the meeting:

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Karen Karapetyan;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev;

Acting Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbai Jeenbekov;

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov;

First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Republic Yaqub Abdulla oglu Eyyubov;

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Byashimmurad Khodzhamamedov;

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Moldova to the Russian Federation Andrei Negutsa;

Chairman of the Executive Committee and Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev.

 Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s remarks at the CIS Council of Heads of Government meeting

This year, the CIS presidency passed to Russia, with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan serving as co-presidents.  The main areas of focus are as follows:

Consistent development and improvement of the CIS, taking into account the latest developments in the global economy and world politics, and in former Soviet nations. The challenges and threats facing our countries put front and centre the issues of modernising CIS integration bodies, starting with those that are industry-related, as well as closer coordination of our nations’ positions on international issues, especially if they deal with common threats such as terrorism, international crime, illegal migration and drug trafficking.  

We face a great deal of joint work ahead to remove existing trade barriers on the basis of the Free Trade Agreement, and to broaden cooperation in e-trade, state procurement and technical regulation.

We will create conditions for the formation within the CIS of a self-sufficient food market, the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of transport and energy, and we will contribute even more to supporting joint innovation activities and research projects in various fields.

This year, we intend to apply our efforts to develop these areas as dynamically as possible, relying on the Eurasian Union’s experience of integration. The linkage of economic formats that are underway in the CIS and the EAEU is an important goal for us.

One of the main goals of our presidency is deepening ties in the spheres of education, culture, information, tourism, and sports. Research grant programmes, internships, and youth cultural exchanges are just a few of the activities planned for the year.

Several nations of the Commonwealth fielded teams for the Russian national professional skills competition, WorldSkills Russia. The event was a good training ground for the global WorldSkills event that will take place here, in Kazan, in 2019. Several more events will be organised as part of the Year of the Family.

Today, we are taking over a dozen decision that deal with cooperation in the area of nuclear energy and transport security. We will promote cooperation in protecting intellectual property rights and in the fight against counterfeiting. We are taking decisions on deepening cooperation in innovations as well.

Documents signed following the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government:

– Agreement on the joint use of the experimental facility at Kazakhstan Tokamak for Material Testing;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on the Plan of priority measures in implementing the Strategy of Transport Security in the CIS member-states during international transit operations for 2017-2019;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on determining remuneration for members and the chair of the Expert Commission, compensation of their expenses, payment of remuneration and expenses as per Supplement 4 to the Free Trade Zone Agreement of 18 October 2011;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on the 2017-2020 Action Plan to complete the Interstate Programme of Cooperation in Innovations of the CIS Member-States through 2020;

– Agreement on rapprochement in legal and technical standard regulation, conformity assessment, unification, accreditation and metrological support in the peaceful use of nuclear energy;

– Agreement on the alignment of the CIS member-states in training, retraining and professional development of specialists in geodesics, cartography, cadastre and Earth remote sensing;

– Cooperation Agreement on counteracting the production and distribution of counterfeit products;

– Protocol on amendments to the Cooperation Agreement on legal protection of intellectual property and establishment of the Interstate Council on Legal Protection of Intellectual Property of 19 November 2010;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on updating the Regulation on the operator of the Interstate Programme of cooperation in innovations of the CIS member-states through 2020;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on the Interstate Radio Navigation Programme of the CIS member-states through 2020;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on amendments to the Regulation on the Office for the coordination of efforts against organised crime and other dangerous types of crime in the CIS member-states;

– Decision of the CIS Heads of Government Council on the implementation of the Decision of the CIS Heads of State Council of 16 September 2016 on the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

News conference following the CIS Council of Heads of Government meeting

Dmitry Medvedev:

Over a dozen documents have been signed, related to various issues, including cooperation in innovation, fighting counterfeiting and defending intellectual property rights. We discussed transport and nuclear energy security issues and science and technology personnel training programmes. Priority was given to cooperation in science and technology, and innovation.

A three-year package of measures was adopted. It provides for more active participation in various projects of national development institutions and the shared use of infrastructure for the purpose of innovation. The CIS Technology Parks Association will also be created.

Building an effective interstate system to commercialise innovations is not our forte yet, either in Russia or in other CIS states. It is therefore essential to share our commercialisation experience.

An agreement on the joint use of a unique experimental facility, which is being created at Kazakhstan’s National Nuclear Centre, was signed. It is known as a tokamak for material testing – an experimental thermonuclear device for studying and testing materials under energy stress, which is similar to the ITER international project. The results of this research will be crucial for modernising industrial reactors, as well as for developing advanced energy reactors.

We have many joint projects in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The rules of national technical regulation in this field differ. Their unification is in our common interest. This is important for the reliability and safety of such facilities. Today, we agreed on shared approaches and signed a corresponding agreement.

Innovation policy, protection of intellectual property rights and fighting counterfeiting – we are updating legislation in this area. There are plans to continue this work under the cooperation agreement that was signed.

An interstate radio navigation programme was signed through 2020. It is focused on advanced scientific and engineering projects and the preferential use of the electronic component base that has already been developed in CIS countries and is being manufactured there. The programme’s funding level is about 600 million roubles.

All CIS countries are interested in ensuring the greater safety of passenger and cargo transit. Our cooperation has been based on unified approaches. Today, a plan of action was adopted for the next three years.

Question: There is an agreement on the creation of a common electricity market in the CIS. When can it start actually working and what will Russia’s role in this process be?

Dmitry Medvedev: This agreement was signed in 2007 and it is one of the core agreements, but until recently its implementation had been inadequate.

There is the CIS Electric Power Council. Nevertheless, we have only just now begun working to bring national laws in line with common standards. The rules of market regulation, energy security and energy capacity require common approaches. Even within the framework of existing power flows, regulations should be unified.

The implementation of this agreement should be facilitated by a project that is being carried out in the Eurasian Economic Union. We are creating a single electricity market also in the Eurasian Union (it should be created by 1 July 2019). The work conducted in the Eurasian Union could be proposed to other CIS states as a model. It will lay the groundwork for a single approach – within the framework of both the CIS and the Eurasian Union.

Russia plays a leading role here because it is the largest electricity market, a country that supplies electricity to a number of other countries. We have long-term agreements in this area. Our rules, our experience in electricity market regulation also provide guidelines to other states.