UPDATE: Minister: National projects not to spur up economic boom

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MOSCOW, Dec 26 (PRIME) -- Russia’s national projects are important tasks to improve the social and economic spheres, but they will be unable to help the economy make a revolutionary leap, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television channel on Thursday.

“What are national projects? They account for 10% of budget spending. The 10% budget spending is unable to change the economy radically. Are the projects important? Of course, they solve a great number of urgent and overdue problems in the social and economic spheres,” he said.

In 2018, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Russia’s national goals and strategic development tasks till 2024 in which he ordered the government to ensure the country’s entry into the top five of global economies, economic growth that would outstrip the global economy and inflation below 4%.

Oreshkin also said that the government plans to privatize assets ready for the deals possibly in 2020–2021, and to prepare privatization roadmaps for the remaining companies.

“What has recently been considered by the government is a possibility to sell several companies, which are already ready for the deals, as soon as possible in 2020–2021… (And for the other companies) we will make roadmaps to mark issues that should be resolved to attract private investors,” he said.

Earlier this week, the Russian government approved a privatization plan for 2020–2022, which comprised 293 companies, including the country’s second-biggest lender VTB, shipping company Sovcomflot, and Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP).

Oreshkin also said that Russia and Belarus are close to an agreement on 31 economic integration roadmaps.

“We have elaborated economic integration options. The principle we use is two sovereign states with a single economy,” he said.

Social inequality and poverty remain the key factors limiting Russian economic growth, Oreshkin said. “The issues of poverty and inequality is where we lag behind the planned dynamics in national development goals, there has been almost no improvement this year and this is a very serious problem, I repeat,” he said.

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