Putin spoke about the development of the Russian economy and the world at the SPIEF. The main thing

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He spoke about how the Russian economy is developing and how it is overcoming the challenges caused by unfair competition from Western countries. The Russian leader named three key technologies that will become the main factor in the development of the global economy. What Putin said at the forum is in the Izvestia article.

Global challenges

• Putin began his speech by listing the main challenges facing the global economy. Among them, he attributed the tension in the Middle East and the short-sighted policies of the European bureaucracy. He noted that the EU authorities are losing their positions in the global economy, undermining regional and global security, and provoking chaos, which draws new countries into it. In general, as Putin pointed out, the world is undergoing the largest structural transformation in recent decades, which is changing the entire paradigm of global development.

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• The President said that the global development model was built around a limited number of financial centers, technological solutions, insurance and logistics hubs, rating agencies and reserve currencies. Such a system was presented as neutral and universal, but eventually it began to be used as an instrument of political pressure and unfair competition. Putin said that in this way the West punishes those who decide to act in their national interests. However, Russia sees this not only as a threat, but also as a new opportunity, as it transitions to a new distributed and multipolar global economy.

The development of BRICS

• Putin noted that new growth centers determine the trajectory of development themselves. The dynamics of global GDP over the past five years has shown that 49% of the annual growth is provided by the BRICS countries, while the G7 countries provide growth of only 18%. The BRICS share of global GDP at purchasing power parity is approximately 40%, while the G7 share is less than 29%. It was possible to bypass the "Seven" back in 2020, Putin recalled.

• The Head of State noted that the focus of global trade and the financial system will shift towards the Global South. The main flows of goods, capital, and information will no longer pass through a small number of Western infrastructure hubs. New transport routes are being created in the world, such as the North—South corridor in Eurasia, the Transarctic Transport Corridor, links across the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, the Black Sea and the Far East.

• Putin said that the global trading system is no longer West-centric. Over the past 25 years, the BRICS share of trade has more than doubled, and last year, the BRICS countries accounted for almost a quarter of global exports. The BRICS domestic trade turnover exceeds $1 trillion per year. This is happening against the backdrop of the erosion of the World Trade Organization (WTO), whose universal trade rules have ceased to be of interest to Western countries. With the help of sanctions, they have disabled the WTO mechanism, undermined confidence in world institutions, which provokes states to conclude bilateral trade agreements.

Problems of Western countries

• Putin pointed out that Western countries have switched to unfair methods of competition, such as sanctions and blocking international assets, using a wide variety of reasons, including conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. However, this only undermines the credibility of the Western community and leads to the collapse of its finances. Putin noted that the eurozone's public debt has risen to 81.7%, while Russia's is up to 16.4%. The EU budget deficit stands at 3.1%, while Russia's is 2.6%.

• The situation in Western countries is such that they face a new surge in inflation, Putin noted. In such circumstances, the countries of the world will reduce assets in the West and transfer payments to national currencies. Russia is already using them in trade relations with its leading partners. Putin cited the ruble as an example: its share in export operations is 65%.

Key technologies

• The Russian President has identified three key technologies that will be an important factor in global transformation and will change people's lives and businesses. These are artificial intelligence, autonomous systems that dramatically increase labor productivity, and platform solutions that will allow market participants to directly exchange information and conclude transactions.

• Putin referred to the forecasts of scientists and experts that countries that have a full range of their own technologies in these areas will become powerful centers of sovereignty in a multipolar world. He also pointed out that without these technologies, real sovereignty would be impossible, so creating your own technological base is fundamentally important for countries with large populations, vast territories and distinctive cultures.

Development of the Russian economy

• The Head of State assured that Russia continues to strengthen its sovereignty, while expanding the circle of its partners. He recalled the task set for the government to return to a steady pace of economic growth starting next year. To do this, it is necessary to increase capital investments and launch a new investment cycle. Putin cited statistics that in 2021-2024, investment growth in Russia amounted to almost 38% in real terms, but there was a decrease last year. He also pointed out that economic growth should be balanced and based on domestic demand.

• Putin predicted that inflation in Russia will approach 5.2% by the end of the year, and also said that the dynamics of GDP growth is in the black. In January-April, it grew by 0.2%, and in April alone — by 1.3%. Russia has retained the fundamentals of macroeconomic policy and its position in the world. Putin called for further maintaining the current trends in the Russian economy. Separately, the president spoke about the introduction of advanced technologies that simplify business operations and increase economic efficiency. Putin said that platformization in Russia has led to a 30% increase in e-commerce over the year.

• Another important indicator that the president pointed out was unemployment. It accounts for 2.2% of the economically active population and is the lowest among industrialized countries. In five years, salaries in the Russian economy have grown by more than 30% in real terms, that is, after deducting inflation. Putin noted the importance of increasing labor mobility, for which it is proposed to legislate an internship tool for students and recent graduates, which will contain clear responsibilities of the employer, the rights of employees and legal guarantees.

• Turning to the development of Russian regions, Putin spoke about helping them through infrastructure budget loans. Over the past four years, over 1 trillion rubles have been allocated through this instrument, and another 750 billion are planned to be allocated by 2030. At the same time, as the president noted, the state is writing off debts from the regions on budget loans, over the past two years the write-off has amounted to almost 440 billion rubles, and in 2026 repayment will be postponed to a later date by more than 100 billion rubles.

• Putin singled out the process of large state-owned companies and corporations moving from Moscow to the regions in order to relieve the burden on the capital and give an impetus to business development in the regions of the federation. The president singled out Rushydro and PSB Bank as a positive example of such moves. The same decision is in the final stage for companies of the Russian Railways group and other structures operating in the field of railway construction.

• Among the proposals to improve the Russian economy, Putin expressed the idea of postponing the lowering of the revenue threshold, which is used to use a simplified taxation system. Up to this point, it was assumed that next year it would be reduced from 20 million rubles to 15 million, and in 2028 to 10 million rubles. The President asked the government and the State Duma to make the necessary amendments, as well as to discuss other preferential conditions for small and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing sector together with business representatives.