Moscow, February 4, 2015. On Tuesday, February 3, Alexander Khloponin, the deputy Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the organizing committee for the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the city of Derbent. The official event took place in the House of the Russian Government (Moscow).

The discussion has been attended by Lev Kuznetsov, Minister for Northern Caucasus Affairs, Sergey Melikov, Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Ramazan Abdulatipov, Dagestani Head, Abdussamad Gamidov, Dagestan Prime Minister, Imam Yaraliev, the mayor of Derbent, the representatives of federal and regional authorities and business community representatives.

Alexander Khloponin, stressing the importance of the upcoming anniversary of one of the oldest cities in the world, recalled the order issued in September 2014 by Dmitry Medvedev to allocate RUR 600 million from the federal budget to Dagestan in 2014-2015 for the reconstruction of parks, the development of the road network, etc. Foreign delegations will be expected to come to Dagestan within the anniversary, and therefore the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out the importance of providing security for the scheduled activities. The deputy Prime Minister also noted that the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation paid special attention to the forthcoming anniversary of Derbent.

According to Sergey Melikov, in order to enhance the effectiveness of preparation for the anniversary, a working group that included the representatives of the embassy was established in September 2014.

"Derbent - is, indeed, the pearl of the south of Russia, this is our Caspian outpost, and we shouldn’t forget about it after September 15. It will be inappropriate and politically incorrect. The subsequent development of Derbent should not stop until 2017 ", - Presidential Envoy noted.

Besides, a number of requirements for the future work was announced: the city's appearance should change for the better till 2018; historical and architectural monuments, in particular, Naryn-Kala fortress, should not affect during the reconstruction; the preparation for the anniversary must be approached rationally and economically, social and youth activities need to be focused on. Sergey Melikov noted the program of the events scheduled for September 15 would soon to be adjusted.

In his turn, Dagestan Head Ramazan Abdulatipov expressed opinion that the anniversary of the oldest cities in Russia can be transferred to various festival venues such as the Youth Forum "Seliger" and "Mashuk". Also it was reported that a number of programs realized in Dagestan, primarily focused on social-cultural affairs of Derbent. For example, today the Museum of World Religions has already been opened in Derbent.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Ramazan Abdulatipov answered the reporters' questions.