Tatarstan State Council and federal authorities debating anticrisis measures

State Duma deputies, members of the Federation Council, elected in Tatarstan, members of the State Council and members of the local government have today met, to discuss joint efforts with the federal authorities, aimed to implement anti-crisis measures. The meeting was chaired by the State Council’s chairman Farid Mukhametshin.

Attendees at the meeting were the State Duma first deputy chairman Oleg Morozov, prime minister of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan’s chief of staff Yuriy Kamaltynov, State Council deputies and other officials.

Opening the meeting, Mr Mukhametshin said the main purpose was to search for ways to strengthen cooperation with the federal authorities in regards to implementing some federal programmes in Tatarstan.

The Tatarstan economy minister Marat Safiullin reported of Tatarstan’s participation in federal programmes and projects, aimed to attract funds from the federal budget in 2008. He remarked on the importance of designing a coherent procedure for Tatarstan-elected State Duma members’s cooperation with the local industry-specific ministries and departments.

“It is alarming that our republic does not participate in all the federal programmes,” said Mr Mukhametshin. “The President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev has twice pointed out that such effort was important, in the annual address to the State Council and at the new parliament's first meeting. He urged finding a mechanism for effective cooperation between the local representatives, State Duma deputies and the federal authorities”.

According to the Duma’s vice-speaker head of the Tatarstan delegation in the State Duma Oleg Morozov, to establish effective interaction, concerted efforts are required from both local representatives in the upper and lower chambers of the Russian parliament, as well as from the heads of local ministries and departments. The prime minister Rustam Minnikhanov in turn called the heads of the ministries and departments for more intensive interaction on the relevant issues with the Federation Council.

The meeting approved the Duma deputies and Federation Council’s initiative to set up task forces, to interact with the federal authorities, to attract federal budget funds to Tatarstan with the purpose of implementing anti-crisis measures. The task forces are to include Duma MPs and senators from Tatarstan, as well as representatives from local ministries and departments. The Tatarstan’s economy ministry is to be a coordination centre for the task forces. The task forces are to assemble, to summarise the performance, at least once in three months, reports the State Council’s press service.