 |
| President Putin announced a new vision for the Russian economy. (Source: AFP) |
At the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented his vision for the future of the Russian economy in what is considered the longest speech he has ever delivered at the forum.
The Russian head of state said the country's economy had overcome a period "when the entire structure of business and economic life was fundamentally changed."
“Despite all the difficulties of last year, Russia has maintained its position as an important player in the global market and increased trade with countries,” he said.
Minimal unemployment and inflation and projected GDP growth of 1.5% help Russia maintain its position among the world's leading economies.
According to Mr Putin, Russia now needs to move to a sovereign “supply-side economy” that creates demand and does not simply respond to market conditions. Such an economy “requires a large-scale increase in the productive and service workforce, strengthening the entire infrastructure network, developing advanced technologies and creating new modern industrial bases and entire industries”.
“The Russian economy must become a high-wage economy with new requirements for the professional education system, increased labor productivity, including on the basis of automation and new control systems, with high-quality modern workplaces and working conditions,” he noted.
President Putin said the departure of foreign brands from Russia after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine left 2 million square meters of retail space empty and created “a void of up to 2 trillion rubles ($23.8 billion)” that was filled by Russian businessmen.
In addition, Russia will simplify the process of opening bank accounts for foreign companies as much as possible. The country hopes to boost foreign trade by developing infrastructure and will renew its commercial fleet over the next five years.
Source
Comment (0)