Dmitry Medvedev’s opening remarks:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

I cordially welcome you to our country. Traditionally, half way through the autumn at a session of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia, we openly speak about all pressing topics as well as discuss the steps that need to be taken to implement projects by major international companies in our country.

I hope this format is also advantageous to the Government of the Russian Federation, and, of course, to the global business community, which you represent.

This gives us an opportunity to promptly share opinions, discuss various ideas and approaches, plus get an assessment at the highest level of expertise, which may be even more important.

More to be posted soon…

The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions is aimed at combatting corruption in sport by improving state regulation of sports and betting organisations’ activities. There is a signed directive approving the plan of action to ensure Russia’s readiness to meet its obligations as a signatory of the Convention.

Proposed by the Russian Ministry of Sport.

The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sport Competitions (further, the Convention) is aimed at combatting corruption in sport by improving state regulation of sports and betting organisations’ activities.

The draft Convention was adopted at the meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 9 June 2014. Russia approved the draft Convention by Government Directive No. 929 of 12 September 2014. The Russian Ministry of Sport signed the Convention in the name of the Russian Federation at the 13^th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport on 18 September 2014.

A signed directive approved the plan of action to ensure Russia’s readiness to meet its obligations as a signatory of the Convention.

The plan envisages the preparation of draft regulations to bring Russian legislation in line with several provisions of the Convention.

In particular, it envisages amendments to the Federal Law On Physical Culture and Sport in the Russian Federation adding a regulatory standard identifying activities that are deemed to be manipulation of sports competitions; introducing the notions of “irregular bets placed on sports competitions”, “suspicious bets placed on sports competitions” and “inside information in physical culture and sport”; charging organisers of sport competitions with taking measures to prevent conflicts of interests and leaks of inside information; establishing a ban on the organisation of gambling at bookmaker’s offices and betting terminals for official youth sports competitions.

The authority to coordinate the implementation of the plan is delegated to the Ministry of Sport.

The Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health was signed by Russia on 28 October 2011 in Moscow. The ratification of the Convention will help bolster interstate mechanisms of protecting the population from risks posed by counterfeit drugs and medical products.

Reference

Submitted by the Russian Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Healthcare.

The Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”) was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation on 28 October 2011 in Moscow in accordance with the President’s Executive Order No 712-rp of 27 October 2011. As of today, the Convention has been signed by 27 countries and ratified by Spain, Hungary, Moldova, Guinea, Armenia, Albania, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Turkey and Ukraine. The Convention came into effect on 1 January 2016.

The Convention stipulates, in part:

– criminal prosecution for counterfeiting medical products and similar crimes, including production, storage and sale of such products, as well as the counterfeiting of corresponding documents and packaging;

– protection of the rights of victims of such offences;

– development of cooperation in combating counterfeit medical products at the state and international levels.

As part of the preparations for ratification, amendments were made to Russian legislation in order to rapidly detect and remove from circulation counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical products, and to prevent and combat offences in this area.

The signed resolution formalises the decision to present the Convention to the President of Russia in order for it to be submitted to the State Duma for ratification.

Ratification of the Convention will help bolster interstate mechanisms of protecting the population from risks posed by counterfeit medicines and medical products.

The purpose of the agreement is to implement the investment project to develop the Klyuchevsky gold deposit in the Trans-Baikal Territory. Concluding the agreement will facilitate the formation and development on an integrated complex for mining and processing minerals and help create about 3,000 jobs in the region.

Reference

Submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

By signing the directive, Russia approved the draft Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation to Implement the Project to Develop the Klyuchevskoye Gold Deposit (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement).

The Agreement consolidates the terms allowing the company China National Gold Group Hong Kong Limited (Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China) or any other company it fully controls (either directly or indirectly) to acquire no less than 60 percent and no more than 70 percent of the voting shares of the Rudnik Zapadnaya-Klyuchi joint stock company with a view to creating favourable terms for investment cooperation in developing the Klyuchevskoye gold field.

Implementation of the investment project to develop the Klyuchevskoye gold deposit will support the deposit’s geological exploration and mining, including the formation and development on an integrated complex on mining and processing minerals. The Agreement provides for the production of precious metals on Russian territory. It also includes measures to support Russian producers of mining and other auxiliary equipment.

The Agreement will facilitate the creation of jobs in the Trans-Baikal Territory (about 1,000 direct jobs and about 2,000 related jobs), higher tax revenues for the budgets of the Russian Federation, and the development of the region’s infrastructure.

In accordance with the federal law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, after it is signed the Agreement must be ratified because it establishes rules that differ from those stipulated by Russian law.

Joint news conference by Dmitry Medvedev and Saad Eddine El Otmani

Excerpts from the transcript:

Saad Eddine El Otmani (via interpreter): This visit by Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has special significance, as it is the first official visit of a prime minister of the Russian Federation to Morocco. So, welcome once again. This is your first time in Morocco, so this visit is important from a personal perspective as well.

This visit is regarded as an historic moment in relations between our countries. It will help strengthen the deep strategic partnership, the agreement on which was signed during the historic visit by King of Morocco Mohammed VI to Moscow in March 2016. This partnership relies on strong foundations for cooperation, which are strong and renewable, and whose horizons expand in various sectors. At some point, this partnership translated into signing 16 agreements in the presence of the King of Morocco, and created new opportunities for dynamic and extensive cooperation between the two countries.

More to be posted soon…