Russia will continue the policy on liberalization and improvement of business climate, said Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St. Petersburg international economic forum (SPIEF). According to the President, the systemic problems will be addressed by increasing the transparency of the operation of mechanisms of power and the levelling of relations between state structures and business. He stressed that these relations should be based on mutual responsibility, respect for laws and respect for the state, society and the absolute value of the institution of private property.
Speaking at the plenary session of SPIEF, Putin pointed to the need to radically reduce the opportunity for illegal criminal prosecution. Moreover, the representatives of power structures should incur personal liability, including criminal, for inappropriate actions that led to the destruction of the business, the President said.
“I understand that this is a very delicate thing, we can not and should not bind hand and foot the work of law enforcement. However, we need balance, hard barrier for any abuse of authority and power,” Putin said and instructed the heads of law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation on the ground.
“Absolutely right,” echoed the President, the Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika.
Earlier, Putin has submitted to Parliament a package of laws aimed at humanizing the “economic articles” in the Criminal code. He stressed that it is important to guarantee the right of business and all citizens to impartial judicial protection. For this purpose, in particular, need to move in the direction of increasing the responsibility of judges and greater transparency of proceedings, says President.
In his speech, Putin also announced the emergence of the presidential Council for strategic development and priority projects. According to him, the Council will work on projects aimed at structural changes in the economy and social sphere, improvement of growth, productivity and improving the business climate. The Council also will consider measures to promote small and medium businesses. Will lead this Council, Putin, for the operational management will meet Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told the TV channel RBC, the presidential Council for strategic plans and priority projects will work on the agenda of the next political cycle 2018-2024 years with regard to what place Russia may occupy in the new technological dimensions. The Council in addition to the premiere will include members of the government, Federation Council and state Duma deputies.
According to Shuvalov, the Council will concentrate on key indicators in ten areas. “The President called — education, health, housing, export promotion, small and medium business. These blocks will define 3-5 goals, which we need to make significant progress,” — said Deputy Prime Minister.
The interaction between the strategic development Board and the presidential economic Council will be organised so that the first will determine “how to achieve a specific outcome”, and the second will determine the course and General guidelines,” added Shuvalov.
“Today the President announced the policy in fact: it is not money printing and not a resource state, and the liberal ekonompolitike. So the choice took place”, — told “Vedomosti” the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin.
Continuing the theme of the economy, Putin noted that the slowdown in economic growth is a global trend, but Russia thus has a chance to grow at a rate above the world. For this purpose, according to the President, not less than 5% per year required growth of labour productivity in large and medium-sized enterprises in construction, transport and agriculture. Enterprises that try to solve such problems, needs to have a wide access to financial resources, Putin said.
To increase productivity, it is necessary to increase market flexibility through the creation of jobs in small and medium-sized businesses, the President said. “The number of workers employed in small and medium-sized businesses, today 18 million people is expected to increase by at least 1.4 million people by 2020 and more than three million by 2025,” he said.
Experts interviewed by “Vedomosti”, the President was not satisfied. As explained by a top Manager of one of the major companies on the forum it was possible to observe the two Putins — one talked about the economy and scowled, the second — long and with pleasure told about the enemy. Second Putin was real, he said.
Several big businessmen called the report of the President inexpressive. According to them, Putin talked about the important things, such as the protection of business or the courts, but from his mouth by saying these topics don’t sound the first time. Now, finally, I would like to move from words to deeds, to agree with each other interlocutors. Foreign businessmen, despite standard hard geopolitical rhetoric, Putin’s speech was satisfied.
“He always tells one and the same, there is nothing new. But the business requires clarity and predictability, and Putin in this regard is clear and predictable,” explained the newspaper CEOS of French financial companies.
ANTON BYKOV
