The State Council’s working group is headed by Governor of Tula Region and State Council member Vladimir Gruzdev. Participants in the meeting included Governor of Kostroma Region Sergei Sitnikov, Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Sergei Pospelov, Deputy Economic Development Minister Oleg Fomichev, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov, Deputy Healthcare Minister Sergei Krayevoy, Deputy Agriculture Minister Dmitry Yuryev, President of the Chamber of Commerce Sergei Katyrin, representatives of the Federation Council and State Duma, federal and regional executive agencies, national public organisations and the expert community.
The working group meeting looked into issues of broadening small and medium-sized businesses’ access to government procurement and bank financial resources, developing youth entrepreneurship, connecting businesses to utility infrastructure – water, gas and electricity – and other government support measures.