Government meeting

The agenda: Writing off regions' debt on budget loans, budgetary finding to support industrial development and to ensure sustained operation of the housing and utilities sector in the regions.

Mikhail Mishustin's opening remarks:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Before we start discussing the agenda of the Government meeting, I would like to inform you about the decisions taken.

As instructed by the President, the Government continues to relieve the debt burden of the regions which actively improve conditions for the people and businesses in their respective territories. We regularly write off two-thirds of their debt on budget loans.

This time, we will reduce the debt, by a total of 8.37 billion roubles. This measure will concern the Altai Republic, the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Chechen Republic, as well as the Ivanovo, Leningrad, Oryol, Saratov, Tambov and Tver regions. They invested their own assets into developing the engineering potential, core communities, upgraded the utility infrastructure, took part in implementing national projects, helped relocate people from rundown and dilapidated housing, expanded support for the industry and overhauled the public transport network.

This measure will help decrease the debt of the Russian Federation's regions by 286 billion roubles throughout 2026, while the number of regions taking advantage of this opportunity will reach 71. From now on, they will be able to channel these resources into key promising long-term projects, create attractive conditions for businesses and comfortable living conditions for people.

I would like to say a few more words about assistance to the regions.

The Government always focuses on measures to expand their production potential. To accomplish this, we utilise multiple effective tools, including such popular options as subsidised lending, including industrial mortgages, seen as important by industrialists.

There are several versions of special investment contracts which provide for special terms for significant projects. We also offer agreements on protecting and incentivising capital investment which compensate part of expenses in the form of tax deduction and provide relevant subsidies.

All these mechanisms help expedite and expand production of high-priority products and reduce investors' risks at initial stages.

As per the President's instruction, we will allocate extra funding for expanding the capital of the industrial development fund of the Tambov Region. Corporate owners and the regional budget will also provide assets which will be used to overhaul machine tools, expand production of electric motors, generators, transformers, distribution and control equipment.

In the past two years, we have already channelled 250 billion roubles from the federal budget in line with the Industrial Development and Improving Industrial Competitiveness state programme for expanding production of goods in demand in the Tambov Region.

The next issue deals with targeted support for the housing and utilities sector. Its current status and the quality of its services largely determine our citizens' living standards.

For this, the President identified the following key objectives: the creation of a modern, comfortable, safe and people-friendly environment in all regions and municipalities.

For example, the Jewish Autonomous Region's housing and utilities sector faces a complicated situation. The Government will provide the region with over 1.1 billion roubles. This decision will make it possible to facilitate the sustained operation of local specialised companies, resource-supplying organisations and to prepare in time the engineering and network infrastructure for the autumn-winter season, and replenish fuel oil and coal stocks at boiler rooms in all communities.

Of course, it is important that residential buildings, social facilities, industrial and other enterprises receive electricity, heat and hot water without interruption.

I would like to ask the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities and the leadership of the region to monitor the cost-effective use of these funds.