Economic growth requires development of private sector, PM says
SOCHI. Sept 27 (Interfax) - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes Russia needs to shift the focus of its economic model away from excessive reliance on government demand, fiscal methods of support and the situation on foreign markets.
"This potential of our country has been exhausted. Therefore, we must all be prepared to make difficult decisions. We must find other sources of growth, above all in the non-state sector," Medvedev said at an international investment forum in Sochi.
He said that the government will of course fulfil all of its main functions, particularly that of regulator. "But at the same time the government should withdraw from areas where businesses are more efficient, or in a number of cases in the so-called non-commercial sector. We can't impede business from developing, we can't restrict its activity," Medvedev said.
It is also necessary to optimize current budget spending and make the government machine "compact, inexpensive and, where possible, very efficient," the prime minister said.
He said the new economic model should be based on three main principles. "The first is maximum entrepreneurial freedom, a healthy competitive environment and dramatic improvement of the business climate. The second is development of the whole innovation chain and incentives for technological modernization of every production facility and the whole economy. The third is a qualitatively new level of governance, increasing transparency and the government's accountability to the public," Medvedev said.
