Novak to take charge of economic development, investment policy and countersanctions in addition to energy
MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax) - Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in addition to his usual responsibility for the energy sector, will oversee the development of the economy in the new Russian government, the Cabinet said on its website.
Novak will coordinate the work of federal government agencies on the main areas of social and economic development, countersanction measures, investment policy, state support for small and medium businesses, the unified financial, credit and monetary policy, state regulation of financial markets, intellectual property, antimonopoly policy and development of competition, tariff policy, policy on the creation and operation of free and special economic zones and state statistical and foreign economic activity, according to the approved distribution of responsibilities in the government.
"Working in various positions, both in business and in public service, Alexander Novak has successfully coordinated financial and economic issues and has the skills to strategically tackle set challenges. According to the instructions of the president, Russia is supposed to become one of the four largest economies in the world by 2030. Alexander Novak, with his entrusted authority, experience and competencies, will organize the work at the very highest level," the prime minister's press secretary, Boris Belyakov said in the statement.
Novak will oversee the development of the unified plan to achieve Russia's national development goals to 2030 and the period to 2036, and work on assessing the impact that budget and tax policy has on socioeconomic development and the acceleration of economic growth.
He will coordinate the work of the Energy Ministry, Economic Development Ministry (with the exception of tourism), the Federal Statistics Service, the Federal Accreditation Service, and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (within the set area of activity).
He will be directly responsible for national projects such as "Small and Medium Entrepreneurship, "Atom" and "Labor Productivity," and will oversee the development, implementation and monitoring of the comprehensive plan to modernize and expand mainline energy infrastructure in the period to 2024.
Novak will also coordinate the activities of development institutions, including the Russian Direct Investment Fund Management Company, the Federal Small and Medium Enterprise Development Corporation and the Russian Venture Company.
He will also continue to oversee work on the comprehensive social and economic development of regions in the North Caucasus Federal District.