Reshetnikov: industry is improving in the Russian economy, the construction sector is growingMOSCOW, 7 Mar - RIA Novosti.
The results of January show that the Russian economy continues to recover: the situation in industry is improving, the construction sector continues to grow, the labor market is stable, said Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
On Tuesday, he held a meeting with the relevant committees of the State Duma on the eve of the annual report of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation on the work of the government last year. The Minister recalled that by the end of 2022, Russia's GDP decreased by 2.1%.
"The January data relative to December with seasonality cleared show that the economy continues to recover. In January, we see an improvement in the situation in industry due to manufacturing industries, the development of transport and logistics corridors - this helps to maintain positive dynamics in cargo turnover. The construction sector continues to grow, the situation on the labor market is stable - the unemployment rate is 3.6%. Consumer demand is recovering," Reshetnikov said.
"All this is accompanied by an expected slowdown in inflation. We expect a slowdown in the coming weeks, a sufficiently significant decline year-on-year based on what happened last year," he added.
Speaking about priorities, the Minister highlighted deepening integration with friendly countries as one of the key ones. Reshetnikov explained that, in fact, foreign economic activity is being reoriented to new markets, and this requires the development of the necessary infrastructure for transport and logistics, changes in payment infrastructure, etc.
"Task number one is the reorientation of sales markets. It is important to further increase trade with countries where capacious markets have been created - these are Asia, the countries of the Black Sea basin, the Eurasian Economic Union, the CIS countries - friendly to us. And of course, there are opportunities for the development of partnership with the countries of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Latin America," the head of the Ministry of Economic Development explained.
Reshetnikov named free trade agreements among the available tools for the development of integration. He also stressed that Russia will continue to promote its interests in the World Trade Organization. "The Institute remains an uncontested mechanism for the civilized development of trade," Reshetnikov said.
Among the priorities of the government's work, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development called attracting investments, ensuring technological sovereignty, developing regions and tourism.
