The President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev arrived for a working visit to Kabardino-Balkaria.  He was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minster, the Plenipotentiary Envoy on the North Caucasian Federal District Alexander Khloponin and the Director of Federal Security Service (FSB) of the RF Alexander Bortnikov. The President of KBR Arsen Kanokov, the chairman of the Parliament of KBR Anuar Chechenov and the Prime Minister of the republic Alexander Merkulov, met the guests at the Nalchik airport.

On the way from the airport they visited secondary school No 32. Dmitry Medvedev observed the gymnasium, the dining-hall, the information science class and spoke to teachers and schoolchildren. He liked the equipment of the computer class and the setup of the school dining-hall, providing children with hot meals.

Later, in the House of the Government, Dmitry Medvedev held the meeting on the development issues of the Northern Caucasus region.

The President of KBR described the situation in the republic.

KBR leader marked that within the last years, including the crisis 2009 one, the republic kept on the positive development trend. The GDP value reached more than 64 billion rubles, budget subsidies came down ­– the present level of 64, 7% is planned to decrease to 45%. 6 new enterprises were opened during the last year: a glass-manufacturing plant, a tannery, textile mill ‘Boren Tekstil’, greenhouse complex ‘Agro-Com’. All these projects are realized with the participation of the Investment and Development Agency on the basis of public and private partnership. 4,5 thousand work places were created. The number of unemployed decreased from 26 to 20 thousand people. Speaking about housing construction, Arsen Kanokov mentioned that about 260 thousand hundred square meters of housing – mainly individual were commissioned in the republic. ‘Individual housing is the traditional peculiarity of the Caucasus. Our Republic is compact, one can reach the center rather quickly, that’s why local population prefers private houses in suburbs or villages to city apartments, - explained Kanokov.

Dmitry Medvedev greeted this initiative. ‘Since a lot of new construction materials have been invented, we should encourage the housing construction in villages ’.  The President of the RF stressed the importance of further support to agro-industrial complex, mentioning that even during the crisis period this industry suffered no decline: ‘This is the only industry, marked with a constant growth’. The head of the State called the development of rural territories and agro-business to be ‘the highest hallmark priority’.

He also indicated that control on unemployment, further support to education, including schools, vocational schools and Universities are the paramount tasks for local and regional authorities. There should be neither problems with teacher’s salaries nor with ‘their salary reduction’ – he mentioned. All schoolchildren must be provided with hot meals. Medvedev approved of the idea of a big university educational center in the region. ‘It is necessary to establish a big university educational center, and if we are ready to establish it in the Northern Caucasus region, I will support it, but the center should be a really working one’ – declared the Head of the State. He accentuated that decent conditions, both for students and teachers are to be created in the center.

Alexander Khloponin marked the basic trends to solve the problems of the Northern Caucasus. These are effective usage of money recourses, granted by the federal center to republics to resolve employment problems, establishing power, tourist-recreational, agro-industrial, innovative and educational clusters, together with development programs for cities, with their infrastructure legging behind their growth. Khloponin also informed that a law on special economic areas on the Northern Caucasus will be submitted to the government shortly.

After the meeting, the guests cut the red ribbon at the entrance to the new building of the Bureau of the Federal Security Service of KBR, where Dmitry Medvedev met the heads of law enforcement agencies.