MinFin should share Econ ministry's responsibility for economic growth - Shuvalov
MOSCOW. June 25 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry ought to share the Economic Development Ministry's responsibility for economic growth, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.
Presenting the brand-new Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev to ministry staff on Tuesday, Shuvalov said, "In our system of executive authority there is a division between the Finance Ministry and Economic Development Ministry." "On the one hand, this is good and quite correct. On the other, I don't very much like that the financial block does not have direct responsibility for economic growth. And it turns out that financial and budgetary policy is in the hands of the Finance Ministry and the entire revenue and spending part of the budget is reported on in the government and at budget commission meetings by the Finance Minister, while responsibility for the rate of economic growth and its quality lie with the Economic Development Ministry," Shuvalov said.
"Since it has been acknowledged advisable to maintain, and maintain for a determined period, the division of the two agencies, nonetheless it must be understood that it [economic growth] is not exclusively the responsibility of the Economic Development Ministry," Shuvalov said. "First, it is the responsibility of all agencies. And each agency has a specific tool-set, and there should be responsibility for the structure of our economy being more modern, so that there is a plan for modernization. But, at the tip of this pyramid is not one agency, but two. They are the Economic Development Ministry and Finance Ministry," he said.
"In the complicated interaction when creating a budget for the next budget cycle, we in any event have to ensure with responsible budget policy understanding of how we are making the country more modern. And on two people in the government, the economic development minister and the finance minister, this task depends to a large degree," Shuvalov said.
