Report: Russia may reach GDP growth of 3% in 2021 – RDIF CEO

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (PRIME) -- Russia may speed up economic growth to 3% in 2021, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said in an interview to Rossiya 24 television channel broadcast on Tuesday.

“We think that the growth will be about 2% or slightly higher this year, but it is absolutely possible for us to have economic growth of 3% in a year, and we think that we have all the prerequisites for that,” he said.

He also said that the new Russian government will focus on investment to speed up the economy.

“From the negotiations that we’ve had with our partners and future members of the government, we see that investment will absolutely be in the basis of the government’s functioning. Everyone understands that we need strong investment if we want economic growth to exceed 3% and not to be in a 1–2% range. I mean investment in national projects, we have to replace private funding with government money. We see that money of the National Wealth Fund will be actively invested in different projects.”

The previous government created the basis for further economic growth, including low inflation and a low debt, but the new government has to undertake clear actions to improve economic expansion, he said.

In December 2019, the Economic Development Ministry said that Russia’s GDP grew 1.6% on the year in November 2019 after 2.3% in October of the year and rose 1.3% in January–November.

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