Ildar Khalikov delivers a welcoming speech at a session of Club of regions of Russian book union

On July 1, Tatarstan Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov took part in a session of the Club of regions of Russian book union held by President of Russian book union Sergey Stepashin at Kazan City Hall.

Ildar Khalikov welcomed participants of the club on behalf of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov and thanked them for choosing Kazan to host the event. He also noted that he had already met with some club members yesterday on June 30, 2014 within the framework of the plenary session of the All-Russia meeting of heads of educational executive authorities of Russian regions.

According to Ildar Khalikov, members of the Club of regions of Russian Book Union have much to discuss. "This conversation is very important in terms of the development of education and culture in the country. Similar topics were discussed yesterday at the plenary meeting of All-Russia meeting of heads of educational executive authorities of Russian regions and issues related to books were raised several times in the course of the discussion. These are our common problems, including, of course, the low reading activity among young people. This topic is very serious and of everyone’s concern, Ildar Khalikov said.

According to him, the issue of publishing textbooks as well as coordination of activities of the Ministry of Education and Science with major publishers is no less important. This also includes the quality of textbooks and their price, especially during the last 5-7 years.

Today's event is a unique opportunity for discussion. All the major Russian publishers in Russia and representatives of the national education system are present at the meeting, Prime Minister said. According to Ildar Khalikov, it is "a good opportunity to hear each other and find a solution."

Ildar Khalikov wished participants of the meeting creative and productive work, as well as achievement of their goals.