NEWS

The first visit of the Republic of Tatarstan parliamentary delegation to the United States has finished. It was organized as part of Russian-American relations “restart” at the regional level.

As part of the visit, Tatarstan State Council Chairman Farid Moukhametshin held meetings at the United States Congress and Senate, the White House, the national Security Council. He signed the Memorandum on mutual understanding with New York State parliament, held a meeting with management and faculty of the State University of New York (SUNY) higher educational institutions.

Scientists from Tatarstan will take part in a Russian agronomy forum. The congress is to tally up the results of the crop growing industry’s performance in 2009. Tatarstan will be represented by the authors of a unique programme called Agrosemexpert, developed by the Rosselkhozcentre in Tatarstan, the branch director Tagir Khadeev told Tatar-inform.

On February 4-5, the Russian Agriculture Ministry will hold an agronomy meeting with the participation of agribusiness entities heads from Russian territories, heads of the Russian Agriculture Academy units, heads of institutions supervised by Russia’s Agriculture Ministry and members of trade associations and unions.

The federal centre is ready to allocate up to 800 million roubles for development of the Bolgar State Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve and island-town Sviyazhsk. Russia’s Deputy Minister of Culture Andrei Busygin informed about it at the Tatarstan Culture Ministry collegium in Kazan on January 30.

“Russia’s Government Chairman issued a corresponding assignment. We will consider it at session devoted to this topic next week. We think it will be possible to allocate up to 400 million roubles for development of these museum complexes annually for a two-year programme,” Andrei Busygin informed.

The heads of some municipalities in Tatarstan need to substantially revise the original programmes of apartment buildings major renovation, said Prime Minister of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov to a meeting on implementing the federal law No 185, called On Facilitation of Housing and Utilities Reform Fund.

The Deputy Minister of Architecture and Housing Evgeny Volkov said in a report that Tatarstan had the previous week presented a report of completing the major repair plan in 2009, signed by President of Tatarstan. The ministry has received applications from all municipalities for participating in the 2010 programme, though the content of some of them arouses questions from the ministry, Volkov said.

The Export-Import Bank of China could display an interest in some investment projects presented by Tatarstan Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov on January 27 to the bank’s executives in Davos.

The Cabinet of Ministers’s press service says that while on a visit to Davos, Switzerland, Rustam Minnikhanov has met with the Exim Bank of China’s chairman Li Ruogu. At the meeting, the parties discussed Tatarstan’s economic potential and further development of some of its industries.

The Bugulma-based oil geophysical company TNG Group, the successor to Tatneftegeofizika, in 2009, when oil services in Russia dropped 25-30 percent, managed to keep and even reinforce its market presence.

The company’s deputy general director Ramil Mukhamadiev says the order portfolio, reduced due to the crisis by over 2 billion roubles, has been restored. New contracts have been signed which allowed working to capacity, without layoffs, and performing 7.5-billion-rouble worth operations. The scope of work in the Samara, Orenburg and Volgograd regions, as well as in the Khanty Mansi and Krasnoyrask regions, was kept the same and increased. The major points of growth were the Irkutsk region, Yakutia and Uzbekistan.

In 2010, the company intends to increase is operations by 17.5 percent versus 2009. According to R. Mukhamadiev, the prediction is based on the won tenders and signed contracts, including one with TNK BP and West Siberia and Orenburg region, with Gazprom in Yakutia and Krasnoyarsk region, as well as a long-term contract with Lukoil Uzbekistan Operating.

The Republic of Tatarstan State Council session, when the issue of vesting Rustam Minnikhanov with Tatarstan President authority will be discussed, has been scheduled for February 4.

On January 28, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev met with the Head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas.

Tatarstan Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov on the first day of the World Economic Forum in Davos met with its founder Klaus Schwab.

The parties discussed the situation in the global economy, prospects for emerging from the crisis and others. The Aide to Prime Minister on Foreign Economic Affairs Iskander Muflikhanov said following the meeting that Klaus Schwab had expressed willingness in 2010 to visit Kazan. The schedule of Professor Schwab’s visit is being negotiated.

The visit could tentatively be timed to coincide with the Sabantui national Tatar festival in June or take place in the autumn of 2010, said the Cabinet of Ministers’s press service.

On January 28, the head of the Palestine National Administration visited Russian Islam Institute accompanied by the RT deputy Prime-minister Boris Pavlov.

At the Institute entrance the PNA leader was met by the RT Muslim Religious Board Chairman Gousman hazrat Iskhakov, the head of the RT Cabinet of Ministers department on religious affairs Renat Valiullin, the rector of the RII Rafik Mukhametshin.

After the tour of the Russian Islam Institute Mahmoud Abbas addressed the RII professors and students, followed by the talk with the Palestinians studying in the universities of Kazan.