Dmitry Medvedev: Dear Mr Prime Minister,
I am very pleased to have this opportunity to meet you and exchange impressions on the development of our relations. I think we are doing quite well with the economy and with investment. Recently, in the last four months, investment has increased almost 50% compared with last year. And during the past year investment was also quite strong. In spite of certain accumulated problems, this is an indication of the enormous potential of our relationship. This is a great opportunity to discuss a whole range of economic, cultural and other relations between our countries. I also hope to discuss our common agenda on Hokkaido.
Gordon Brown (retranslated from Russian): First, I’d like to congratulate you, President Medvedev, on your first participation in the G8 summit. This is the first time I’m taking part in the summit too. There are issues between our countries which I would like to discuss with you, Mr President, in more detail.
We know our countries are working together on Middle East settlement, and together with other countries, we are working to resolve the Iranian situation. You are absolutely correct in pointing out that there are many global economic issues, including the credit crunch, the financial crisis, the food situation, and climate change, which should be discussed. Of course I would also like to discuss with you all of the outstanding issues our countries share and I am looking forward to further constructive work.
Dmitry Medvedev: I agree. Let’s start.