Speaking at a Kremlin meeting with the management of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (or RSPP), Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the government will henceforth work in close cooperation with the business community to search for the optimal ways of solving the most pressing problems facing the society in general, and the businesses, in particular, in crisis times. The meeting preceded the official opening of the nationwide “Russian Business Week” forum organized by the RSPP from April 13-17 in Moscow.
Specifically, the president declared his readiness to authorize, if and when necessary for the achievement of the declared purposes, some radical changes to a series of fundamental legislations and other related legal acts, seen as hindrances to progress in some sectors of the economy. “I believe that we should work together with businesses and everyone, who is really interested in the improvement of our social legislations, to prepare a series of recommendations on the amendments of those laws,” he said. “These changes could include amendments to some serious institutions in vital business spheres such as corporate governance, business management in crisis situations, sanitation of businesses and bankruptcies.”
In his reply speech, RSPP President Alexander Shokhin noted the importance of a joint agenda for both businesses and government. “There is no doubt that we ought to have a joint agenda,” he noted, adding that the business community’s priorities completely coincide with those of the state across a broad range of issues. “With regard to priorities, I would like to note that social problems raise as much concerns among businesses as they do for the government,” he added.
As an example of these issues of common concerns, the RSPP president cited the pension reform, calling it a No. 1 priority for Russian businesses. “This is why we would like to be seriously involved in the discussion of not only the general direction of the strategies for reforming the current pension system, but also in the discussion of those tiny details that could later become very serious problems for businesses in the future.”
On the whole, the RSPP president expressed full satisfaction with the existing cordial relationships between businesses and the government. “Specifically, I should note that the main thing that we are really happy about today is the existence of dialog between businesses and the government, as well as the presence of functioning mechanisms, formats and tools for the effective discussions of all the problems and other issues confronting businesses in our country today.”
would like to note that social problems raise as much concerns among businesses as they do for the government,” he added. 
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