Meeting with members of youth organizations from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, as well as Egypt, Putin said: "This problem has been discussed virtually at every G8 summit as education is a crucial factor of economic success and growth."
Russia, which hosts a G8 summit in St. Petersburg this weekend, said education would be one of three key issues on the summit agenda, along with energy security and the fight against infectious diseases.
Putin told the junior world summit (J8) that Russia hoped to advance G8 decisions on education which had not been fulfilled promptly and in full.
At home, Putin made education a target of one of the four national projects to raise living standards. He urged to improve the quality of education so that it answers the demands of today's job market.
"We need to ensure the competitiveness of our education, otherwise we will face a serious gap between the quality of education and the current demands [of the market]," Putin said in his state of the nation address in May.
Asked whether he was ready to endure pain, inevitable in judo fighting, in everyday life, Putin who has a black belt in judo, said it was not the most brutal sport.
He said being at peace with oneself and the world around you was the main principle of judo, which could also be applied in everyday life.
"In contact and in harmony with partners we can find solutions to the most complicated problems," Putin said.
