St.Pete forum: prospects and results
SMU Economics Professor Shlomo Weber is quoted in The Voice of Russia on that country growing into a major global economy.
The stage in which the state came to play a greater role in the Russian economy is over, said President Medvedev addressing the 15th St.Petersburg Economic Forum.
Even though the state has tightened its grip on the economy in recently years, Russia is not building state capitalism, Dmitry Medvedev said. A greater involvement of the state was needed to stabilize the situation after the chaotic 1990s. Now that this stage is over, the country should pass on to an economic model which encourages private businesses. An economy based on state-run businesses may lose its competitiveness and become dangerous in the future.
These announcements by the Russian president received a hearty welcome from participants in the forum. According to experts, a greater role of private enterprises and a boost in investment activities meets Russia’s current needs and concerns. . .
Russia’s economic performance in 15 years of the forum’s history has won international respect, says Professor Shlomo Veber of Southern Methodist University.
"Russia has changed a lot over the past 15 years, and so has the forum. Things are not the same as compared to the first summit in 1997. Nearly 5,000 guests from 80 countries are attending. Among them is the prime minister of China, the president of Indonesia and the prime minister of Finland. Apparently, Russia has grown to become a top global economy since the first economic forum fifteen years ago."
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