Actuality January 30, 2008

GDP growth of the Russian Federation (RF) in 2007, according to the last estimations, totaled 7,8% against 7,4% in 2006, declared Aleksey Kudrin, Minister of Finance of RF, speaking at the forum "Russia", organized by Troika Dialog in Moscow.

According to him, such results allow saying that in the nearest three years the economy of Russia grows 6,5-7% r ates

a year.

"According to the recent calculations, last year the economy grew by 7,8%. It is more than in 2006, when growth totaled 7,4%. Such rates allow us saying that in the nearest three years the economy grows not at the level of 6%, how it was expected before, but at the level of 6,5-7%", he said. Kudrin marked that it "discords" with the situation in the world economy and "irrespective of a possible recession in the world allows to have steady high rates of the economy growth". According to him, it goes about stability of political institutes and macroeconomics in Russia, and also about high expectations from the investors' part.

"This new quality of the Russian economy allows passing from short-term investments into long-term investments", the head of

the Ministry of Finance underlined.

According to Kudrin, within the nearest eight years "we can make the Russian economy innovative, able to enter the world markets with high-technology products". Recipe of that success, according to the minister, becomes liberalization

of the economy and introduction of mechanisms, promoting competitiveness of

the Russian companies.