21 Jul 2020 15:43

Putin sets national goals for Russia's development through 2030

MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree outlining the country's national development goals through 2030.

The document is available on the Kremlin website.

Among the national goals the decree lists are maintaining the population and the health and wellbeing of the people; opportunities for self-fulfillment and the development of talent; a comfortable and safe environment for life; decent, effective work and successful business; digital transformation.

Furthermore, in accordance with the decree, by 2030, Russia should enter the world's top ten countries in terms of the quality of general education and the volume of scientific research and developments, including by creating an effective system of higher education.

Another objective is to increase the proportion of Russians taking part in volunteer programs to 15%.

Additionally, by 2030, the housing conditions of at least five million families should be improved each year, while the amount of residential construction should grow by at least 120 million square meters annually.

These goals also include establishing a sustainable system for recycling household solid waste that will handle 100% of such waste and will help halve the amount of waste sent to landfills.

The proportion of road systems in major metropolitan areas should reach at least 85%, in accordance with the relevant regulatory requirements.

The document also sets an objective to halve discharges of toxic pollutants that have the largest negative impact on the environment and human health. Such steps include liquidating the most hazardous sites of accumulated environmental damage and carrying out ecological recovery of water reservoirs, including the Volga River, Lake Baikal, and Lake Teletskoye.

In the same decree, the president orders the government together with the State Council to adjust or work out national projects aimed at achieving the national goals and set targets, as well as plans for fulfilling them, and submit them to the presidential council on strategic development and national projects for consideration.

Furthermore, as it annually draws up a draft budget, the government ought to give priority to budget allocations intended to fund efforts to achieve the national goals and ensure that additional budget revenue that appears during the execution of the budget is spent on them.

Last week, Putin ordered his administration to prepare draft decrees to solidify the national development goals through 2030, giving the government and the State Council three months to adjust the national projects based on these decrees.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, in turn, said that the adjustment of national projects may be completed before the fall, adding that the timeline for achieving national goals could be extended until 2030.