The United States will be helpless to restore its leading position in the global economy in the aftermath of the crisis, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today at a meeting with the members of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma.
He agreed with Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov that the United States had lost its leading position, and that the US economic crisis was set to continue.
“You are absolutely right that confidence in the United States as the leader of the free world and free economy, as well as confidence in Wall Street, have been irreparably undermined,” Putin said, noting that this was not just his personal opinion, but an idea which was also directly or indirectly expressed by many European leaders, chairmen of central banks, finance ministers and experts.
Speaking of the Russian economy, Putin said its real sector should not be financed from the federal budget alone. “Sources of the real sector financing should be diverse, not just the federal budget,” he stressed, also adding that this could lead to corruption and inefficient spending.
The government is paying enough attention to the priority sectors of economic development, according to the Prime Minister. Specifically, an additional RUB 58.2 billion (approx. $2.23bn) has been allocated to space projects; RUB 31.2 billion (approx. $1.2bn) to the GLONASS project; RUB 19.4 billion (approx. $744.15m) to civil aviation; RUB 87.4 billion (approx. $3.35bn) to the energy sector; RUB 3.7 billion (approx. $141.9m) to the electronic component base; and RUB 4.2 billion (approx. $161.1m) to civil marine projects. The Prime Minister also pointed out the need to attract private investment to these sectors, including foreign investors.
Federal budget funds should also be invested in infrastructure, science, education and healthcare, according to Putin. |
