Putin discussed the development of the Far East, the Northern Sea Route and the budget deficit. The main thing

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. He spoke about the development of the Far East, the prospects of the Northern Sea Route and the current state of the Russian economy. What else did Putin talk about — in the Izvestia article.

The situation in the Far East

• Putin began his speech by describing the current economic situation in the Far East. He noted that over the past 11 years, 25 trillion rubles of capital investments have been attracted to his regions, and his domestic regional product has tripled over this period. This has made it possible to ensure that the dynamics of investment and construction in the Far East exceeds the average Russian pace. Putin noted that he had visited the Zvezda shipbuilding complex the day before and was impressed by its work. He pointed to the Amur Gas Processing Plant as another example of the successful development of the region.

• The President said that 20 years ago, unemployment in the Far East reached 8%, ahead of the national average. But since then, it has been reduced by four times. Putin described such unemployment as a record low for the region, and also noted that wages were rising in parallel with its reduction. A third of the citizens working in the Far East are employed in small and medium-sized businesses, which Putin called a good result.

Significant progress: Putin linked Russia's future to the development of the Far East

How the authorities are stimulating the modernization of the economy of the Far Eastern Federal District and the Arctic, and what the Petr Stolypin gas carrier reminded the president about

• According to the head of state, a solid foundation for faster growth has already been created in the Far East. This is reflected in a significant increase in industrial and logistical capabilities. The next stage will be the implementation of the updated regional development strategy for the next ten years. It provides for maintaining the current pace of development, launching new investment cycles, and increasing investments in projects focused on domestic demand and the Asian market.

• Putin recalled that in certain areas of the Far East and the Arctic, there is a system of preferential treatment to attract investment and jobs. But starting from January 1, a single preferential treatment will begin to operate throughout these regions. His idea is that the support tools should not be tied to a specific special zone, but tuned to activities throughout the Far East. The current benefits for residents of special zones will remain, Putin stressed.

Far East Development Projects

• The President noted that in order to form high-tech industries of the future, it is necessary to strengthen the resource base of the Far East by expanding geological exploration and commissioning new mineral resource centers. Russia's largest copper deposit, Udokan, in Transbaikalia, the largest coking coal deposit, Elga, in Yakutia, is already being developed, and large-scale zinc and lead coal production facilities are operating in Buryatia. Putin promised that mining in the Far East, including rare earth metals, would continue.

• At the same time, the president noted that the extracted resources should be processed locally, so that value chains could be formed in the Far Eastern and northern regions, jobs would be created and regional budget revenues would grow. At the same time, the development of high-tech areas should not draw attention away from traditional industries such as forestry and the agricultural sector.

• Putin called for ensuring the sale of products for investors willing to invest in the development of the Far East. To do this, an offset contract tool should be used, thanks to which businesses are guaranteed early demand for products from the state, regions and municipalities. At the same time, the head of state recalled that the construction of new enterprises and the modernization of existing production facilities should be based on high environmental standards.

• The President said that a special legal regime in the Far East, which will be launched next year, will allow for rapid, unhindered testing of the latest technologies, such as drones in agriculture, industrial robots, telemedicine or artificial intelligence for medical examination. At the same time, on October 1, a law will come into force that will allow for more active use of platform solutions for procurement in the regions and in the field in the form of an experiment. Putin said that this would allow educational institutions to purchase goods "directly from the shelves of domestic marketplaces," bypassing the current regulatory framework. It will also eliminate the possibility of corruption in procurement.

• Putin also focused on the development of the Far East's electric power industry. According to him, a comprehensive program for the development of the region in this direction has already been prepared until 2050. It should help to increase energy capacity based on environmentally friendly generation, increase the pace of gasification and offer effective solutions for energy supply to remote areas. Putin called small nuclear power plants one of the tools for this.

• The Russian leader also spoke about the development of the quantum communications network operated by Russian Railways. Now it exceeds 7,800 km, unites 27 subjects of the federation, including 13 million cities, but by 2030 it should be extended to the Far East and all its regional capitals. This will increase the high-speed exchange of data and information within the country.

The Northern Sea Route

• Putin pointed out the importance of developing the carrying capacity of the railways of the Far East, for which it is necessary to modernize port, warehouse and cross-border facilities operating on the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railway. But Putin assigned a special role in the development of transport infrastructure to the Transarctic Transport Corridor, which connects St. Petersburg and Murmansk with Vladivostok and further with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region through the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

• The President called for ensuring the flexibility and security of international supplies via the NSR, which is especially important in the context of risks to global shipping and trade these days. Putin said that the goal is to make navigation on the northern route year-round. For this purpose, icebreakers and ice-class vessels, a service and rescue fleet are being built, a satellite constellation is being built up and ports along the ships' route are being strengthened.

• Putin noted a landmark event in the development of the NSR: the launch of the main oil pipeline to the new terminal of the North Bay from one of the largest Arctic projects, Vostok Oil, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The first oil will be shipped to this port, which will be sent to customers along the polar sea routes. In the future, according to the president, it is planned to integrate Arctic sea terminals with railway and inland waterways in order to gradually connect cargo flows from Central Russia, the Urals and Siberia.

• The NSR is also starting to work for the supply of imported goods. Putin recalled that in August, the first container ship from China to Murmansk passed through the Arctic. The President said that by the end of the 2020s, the volume of traffic along the Transarctic Corridor will amount to at least 70 million tons per year and will double from the current level.

The social sphere

• Among other things, Putin noted that master plans have been developed in 22 Far Eastern cities and agglomerations, 15 more strategic documents have been drawn up for Arctic strongholds, and in the future it is planned to increase their number to 200. These plans set the logic for the development of cities and territories, determining what their social life should be. More than 400 facilities are being designed and built as part of the implementation of the master plans.

• Among the projects already implemented, Putin mentioned new airports in Magadan, Blagoveshchensk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 15 polyclinics and hospitals, more than 90 schools and kindergartens, new parks and recreation areas such as the embankment in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Mayak Park in Magadan and Bagulnik in Tynda. Putin also noted the opening of a modern cancer center in Yakutsk and an advanced nuclear medicine center in Ulan-Ude. According to him, this allows local residents to receive high-quality medical care without moving to other metropolitan areas of Russia.

• Speaking about financing development projects, Putin recalled that in the next four years, the regions of the Far East and the Arctic will have to return 53 billion rubles to the federal budget to repay infrastructure treasury loans. He asked the government to consider an option in which the regions could direct these funds to infrastructure projects of their master plans.

• Putin said that the regions of the Far East enjoy various benefits, such as a special mortgage program with a 2% interest rate, which has allowed to stimulate housing construction and double the number of housing starts to 5.3 million square meters. There are also additional fertility support measures in the Far Eastern Federal District, such as a one-time payment for the firstborn in the amount of two subsistence minimums and regional maternity capital at the birth of a second child. It makes up 30% of the federal maternity capital.

The country's economy

• After concluding his speech, Putin moved on to discuss economic issues across the country. He noted that investments are currently declining, but the main reason for this is the deliberate policy of the Bank of Russia and the government, which is aimed at suppressing inflation. This policy made it possible to prevent its surge and keep inflation at 6.3%. The Head of State called the main task not to overcool the economy and maintain a healthy macroeconomics.

• Putin also noted that the current budget deficit is not critical, as Russia has one of the lowest levels of public debt in the world. The President pointed out that the government is trying to act carefully and not overload the financial system with loans, including private banks, so that businesses can count on large investments.

• Separately, Putin spoke about the state of demography in Russia. He noted that birth rates are falling everywhere in the post-industrial world, but at the same time, Russia is showing better results compared to such developed countries as South Korea and Japan. The President pointed out that the state creates conditions for the development of the economy and the standard of living in general, which should affect the growth of the population. According to him, demography is "on the verge of science and art," and therefore it requires a special approach and careful work.