Surkov assures Putin that his May 2012 decrees will be fulfilled
MOSCOW. May 7 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister and head of the government secretariat Vladislav Surkov has assured President Vladimir Putin that the Cabinet, working together with the Kremlin secretariat, will do all it can to attain the goals formulated in the presidential decrees dated May 7, 2012.
"I want to assure you on behalf of the government secretariat and the government itself that we, together with our colleagues from the [presidential] secretariat, will do all we can to eliminate the shortcomings that still exist and attain the goals that you have set," Surkov said at a conference dealing with the implementation of Putin's May 2012 decrees at the Kremlin on Tuesday.
"Perfectly understanding that a paper is only a paper, I still would like to note that, in terms of formal discipline, that is, the timeliness of reports, the government is working quite flawlessly," Surkov said.
Out of the 200 instructions issued to promote the implementation of the said decrees, 151 are supposed to be fulfilled in 2012-2013, and 111 of them have already been fulfilled, and the president lifted control from 88 of them, Surkov said. Some more instructions "are in a positive trend in terms of their fulfillment," he said.
Surkov also mentioned "some of Russia's rating achievements, particularly concerning the investment climate." For example, the World Bank elevated Russia to the 41st position on its tax administration rating, he said.
"We have even overtaken a number of leading market economies," Putin said to this.
Surkov also pointed out that Bloomberg put Russia among the top-20 innovative countries. "We have overtaken such a country as the United Kingdom, and we are the first in this respect among the BRICS countries. In my view, this is also an appraisal of years of efforts in the political field aimed at creating elements of an innovative economy in Russia," Surkov said.
