MOSCOW, February 14. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russia-EU Partnership for Modernization sets the purpose to create high technology production and modern institutes in relations between states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday.
“The Partnership for Modernization is not devoted to the development of cooperation in the oil sector and in hydrocarbon production. This is just partnership for modernization that is aimed at promoting high technology and developing modern mechanisms, and interaction institutions between the states,” the Russian minister said.
“We think that this year it is necessary to create the framework for backing small- and medium-size enterprises as to cooperation between them,” Lavrov added.
Special attention is riveted to youth exchanges because this is the future of bilateral relations. “This is education, cultural, sportive contacts. A joint university is being created with Germany. Thus, the Partnership for Modernization is a very promising project,” the minister said, adding “Of course, we’re ready to discuss each other’s experience as for relationship between the state and the society - human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“It is important to have common criteria, universal criteria, which are not imposed by any country and which are based on consensus. This is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the basic document in the field of political freedoms as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It writes the rights and obligations. One of the provisions says the rights and freedoms can be restricted on the basis of laws to protect moral and to ensure law and order, and security of states,” Lavrov said.
“Let’s look at these processes as a single set. Let’s say we have obligations before our citizens. Someone fulfils them better while the other not quite. We’re talking about it in the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe), the Council of Europe and the Council on Human Rights. We won’t ignore this,” the minister said.
“Certainly, we realize that human capital and its liberation are one of the key sources for modernizing the society. This is the priority task for us. So, we praise the dialogue with the EU and cooperation in the field of modernization with German,” he said.