The agreements reached today will contribute to the strengthening of relations between Russia and South Ossetia and will benefit the development of the Republic, said Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the results of the meeting with South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov.
"We try to help the socio- economic development of the Republic in every possible way. Most of our today's talks were devoted specifically to trade, investment, interaction in the social sphere, Putin said.
According to him, Russia is the main foreign trade partner of South Ossetia. The bilateral trade turnover for January-September of this year increased by almost 50 percent compared to the same period last year, and the export of South Ossetian goods to Russia grew by more than a quarter.
According to the press service of the Russian president, the heads of the two states instructed the Intergovernmental Commission to take additional measures to stimulate bilateral export and import exchanges.
The parties also discussed the implementation of the investment program 2015-2017, for which Russia allocated 7.6 billion rubles.
"These funds are directed to dozens of vital projects for the Republic. It is, first of all, the reconstruction and modernization of transport and social infrastructure, improving social protection of people. In this context, I note the agreement just signed, in which Russian citizens residing in South Ossetia will be able to use the Russian system of general medical insurance, ", Vladimir Putin said.
The Russian leader has stressed that Russia will continue to allocate resources for the development of South Ossetia.
"We have already prepared a new investment program for 2018-2019, which will be approved in the near future. In addition, we have prepared a special package of concessional lending for the population and enterprises of South Ossetia for a total of more than 1 billion rubles. Funds are allocated primarily to the rise of the agro-industrial complex, support for small businesses, "- have been quoted the words of Vladimir Putin by his press office.
