Addressing the forum, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov noted that the Government is not satisfied with the current rate of economic growth, but the current situation is far from a recession. According to Igor Shuvalov, Russia's economy slowed down in part due to the weakening of the global economy. He believes there is no need to take immediate fiscal stimulus measures.
According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, fighting inflation is high on the Government’s list of priorities. “If someone says that we need to increase inflation in order to promote growth,” he said, “we will not support such a discussion.” He also expressed the hope that “target inflation figures will be good as of the end of the year.”
According to Igor Shuvalov, the Government managed to resolve many important issues in the areas of social security, poverty reduction and formation of the middle class during the period of high oil prices. The country has achieved a lot, and now society is expecting the economy and the institutional environment to grow further.
Referring to the promotion of exports of high-tech goods from Russia, Igor Shuvalov said that a lot of time has been wasted, but now this mechanism has started working. Mr Shuvalov cited the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) as an example of more active efforts in the area of industrial policy.
Commenting on the situation in Cyprus, Igor Shuvalov stressed that this reflects the fact that there are no safe havens anymore. According to him, Russia is a more comfortable and safe place to invest than other countries that used to be attractive. He noted that the issue of amnesty for previously repatriated capitals may be raised again.
