The meeting took place on the sidelines of the BRIC summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China).
Mr Medvedev once more expressed his condolences to Mr Hu following the devastating earthquake in China’s Qinghai Province that has caused much damage and loss of life.
The two presidents discussed ways to intensify bilateral cooperation, including through the BRIC and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation forums and carrying out big economic projects, and also examined opportunities for expanding humanitarian contacts.
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President of China Hu Jintao: I am very happy to see you again, Mr President.
The devastating earthquake that struck my country’s Qinghai Province and claimed many victims has forced me to change my schedule for this visit and return home immediately. I want to thank you for agreeing to change the schedule of our joint events, and I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
This is our first meeting this year, but I think we will have other occasions to meet at bilateral and multilateral events over the course of the year. I very much welcome your visit to our country this September and your participation in the Day of Russia events at the Expo 2010 Shanghai. I pass the floor over to you.
President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President,
First of all, I want to express my sincere condolences – condolences shared by the whole of Russia – over the devastating earthquake that struck Qinghai Province. Sadly, such disasters always take their toll in human lives and widespread damage. I also want to assure you that if China, our close partner, and the friendly Chinese people need the Russian Federation’s support, we are ready to provide any type and amount of assistance that we possibly can.
This is indeed our first meeting this year, Mr President, although this year began with an important event related to our relations, namely, the start of Chinese Language Year in the Russian Federation. As you noted, there are many events coming up, multilateral events such as meetings of the G20 and other international groups, and even more important, bilateral events such as my upcoming visit to China and the Day of Russia at the Expo 2010. These are all opportunities for us to continue our joint work and discuss the broad range of issues on our bilateral agenda.