Speech at Third Russian World Congress of Compatriots Abroad.Part 2
December 1, 2009
Moscow
Выступление на Третьем Всемирном конгрессе соотечественников.
1 декабря 2009 года
Москва
Let me brief you on what needs to be done. We must prepare amendments to the Federal Law on Russian public policy towards compatriots abroad. This bill addresses a number of regulations that are obviously outdated and it will very soon be submitted [to the State Duma]. On November 17, it was submitted to the Government Cabinet. So of course work on this will continue. It will clarify the concept of compatriots abroad. I hope that the concept will be made more precise, although again I think that all these issues should be discussed, including in this framework of the Congress that is taking place here. Compatriots' non-governmental organisations will be able to register such people and to provide the relevant certificates, taking into account of course the skills our compatriots have and the roles that they play in society. Special efforts will be made to increase the role of the Congress and various coordinating councils, as well as expand the possibilities for Russian regions to work with compatriots. This is especially timely given the fact that more than 20 Russian regions have programmes or plans for working with compatriots.
Changes will also be made to the government programme to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots in Russia. In this we are perhaps not moving as fast as we would like. As of November this year more than 17,000 people and their families have come back to Russia under the auspices of this programme. But I am confident that we can expand this work. I am confident that when and if we have additional funding opportunities we will strengthen this programme.
First and foremost I will extend the deadline given to the Federal Migration Service offices abroad working on the resettlement programme. In addition, in the Russian regions that are implementing the relevant elements of the programme, additional measures are being taken to ensure the registration of participants and registration of the relevant documents.
On the other hand, I would like to emphasise that of course we are not looking simply to run up the numbers. The total figure matters, but the most important thing is that our compatriots currently outside Russia remain confident that they can return to their homeland, and that, if they so desire, their country, Russia, will give them its full support.
This leads to another very essential subject. We urgently need our young compatriots to better understand what is happening in Russia, so that they can not only know what is going on in our country but, to speak frankly and perhaps a little pompously, they can actually feel proud of it. And to this end, we intend to create an environment that facilitates educating our compatriots in Russia's higher education institutions and the campuses that have been created in other countries, primarily in the Commonwealth of Independent States. We are also going to continue to hold festivals and competitions for young talent, university and school contests, as well as assist in organising trips to historic places of Russia.
Incidentally this year the quota for compatriots in Russia's educational institutions was increased to 10,000. Once again, perhaps we can eventually aim higher, but I would draw your attention to the fact that this has been achieved during the financial crisis, at a time when we were forced to reduce funding for a range of cultural programmes. This does mean, however, that we consider this issue and this programme to be extremely important.
Let me say frankly that I hope that your presence here today will enable an exchange of views that will provide a solid foundation for new decisions on the basis of your work. Colleagues who are here to represent government authorities and public organisations will report to me on the proposals made and, make no mistake, I will give the appropriate instructions to the Cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and every other department that is involved with this issue, along with the relevant administrative structures, in order to carry out your suggestions, subject of course to our current capabilities.
http://www.kremlin.ru
Loading...
3:38Artem Medvedev: speech at candidates forum in E...by artemNDP122 views
Link to this comment:
Video Responses
All Comments (0)