Kremlin'de Stratejik Kalkınma Konseyi Toplandı: Bütçe ve Yapısal Dönüşüm Gündemde

Meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects

The President chaired a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects at the Kremlin. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak delivered a report on the implementation of the Structural Transformation Plan. Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov reported on measures to ensure balanced budgets for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2026–2029. Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko spoke about working with regions to achieve the sociological indicators set out in the national development goals. Head of the Russian Popular Front Executive Committee Mikhail Kuznetsov presented the results of monitoring the implementation of national projects. State Secretary — Deputy Minister of Defence and Chair of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation Anna Tsivileva reported on systemic efforts to support special military operation participants and their families. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon. Today, we are holding a regular meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects. We will all work together – Government members, heads of regions, representatives of business associations and civil society groups – to discuss our far-reaching and shared effort to achieve Russia’s long-term development objectives. Let me remind you that these cover key sectors, including demographics, education, creating a people-friendly living environment, technological leadership, and the digital transition. Of course, national goals also provide for ensuring robust and quality growth for our national economy and generating higher growth rates across a wide spectrum of sectors. I suggest we begin with this particular topic. According to statistical data, overall economic performance has been quite modest, while remaining in positive territory. GDP growth has been about 1 percent. Let me note that this indicator was 0.6 percent in the first six months, against 1.3 percent growth in the second quarter. Of course, several factors, including external pressure and terrorist attacks targeting our industrial sites and infrastructure, have been affecting economic growth rates. It goes without saying that these attacks will not have, do not cause and cannot bring about any critical consequences. True, they do cause harm – this much is obvious, and we understand this, we see this, and we are aware of it. I would like to emphasise once again that we must reinforce our national sovereignty and be more effective in terms of our defence and security, as well as, of course, on socioeconomic matters. We are already carrying out the Economic Restructuring Plan, which provides, among other things, for creating modern, productive jobs and increasing output in sectors offering high added value – this is a matter of generating quality, robust growth within the national economy. I will elaborate on the key conditions for fostering this kind of development separately. For now, let me note that the Government drafted the Economic Restructuring Plan last year and it is designed to cover a period until 2030. In keeping with our agreement, its implementation implies a steady and unrelenting effort with permanent performance assessments, including at the regional level and taking into consideration not only the way regional economies evolve, but also the situation with their budgets and the size of their debt burden. Today, we will hear a detailed report on this topic. Now, let us address the conditions for economic growth. Spurring investment is the key for this. Investment in Russia’s core capital increased by over 40 percent between 2019 and 2024. This result was largely due to major infrastructure and industrial projects that were primarily export-oriented. These include chemical production, metal industry, mining, petrochemistry and gas-to-chemicals sector. The construction sector has demonstrated a robust investment pattern, with contribution from regional development support mechanisms and concessional mortgage programmes. Since last year, many of the megaprojects have passed the main investment phase. They maintained their investment rates but many of them have been completed. Subsequently, the general capital investment rate has subsided. There are certainly other factors but this one is significant. Our task now is to launch a new investment cycle and provide businesses with additional opportunities to invest in the development of industry, agriculture, services and housing construction. I would like to stress that it is imperative to invest in projects that are primarily focused on domestic demand, the technological development of all areas, and digital platforming of economic sectors. It is important to support the upgrading of urban and rural infrastructure, modernisation of housing and utilities, and construction and maintenance of sea and river ports, railways and motorways. I should remark that, despite the recent terrorist attacks that I talked about, our commercial infrastructure continues its effective and stable operation. The conditions are challenging, no doubt about that, but everybody involved is coping with the tasks set by the current circumstances. At the same time, the logistics and storage facilities certainly need to be recovered, including with state support. I am asking the Government to adopt a respective support programme. We must remember that the recovery of the damaged facilities must be done to a qualitatively higher technological standard. Construction of electrical grids and generating stations is an industry of its own and an essential objective because as regions and territories develop and new projects and digital services are launched, power consumption always grows and will grow, as we all are well aware. We have already established a package of investment support measures, including tax incentives, administrative mechanisms, credit subsidies and other instruments. I consider it appropriate for the Government to once again assess the effectiveness of these measures, to analyse how they are being utilised by enterprises at both federal and regional levels, and subsequently – together with the Central Bank and business associations – to submit proposals on improving the investment support system. Let me reiterate: our objective is to ensure steady and sustainable growth in capital investments, including the modernisation of production facilities and the enhancement of labour productivity on a new technological foundation using autonomous systems and industrial robots, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence solutions. This is especially important given the personnel shortages in certain sectors. In this context, as we further improve the investment support system, it is essential to prioritise the stimulation of innovation. We have returned to this point repeatedly, but without such an approach, we will be unable to achieve the necessary pace of economic growth and structural transformation. I would like to address the use of modern technologies in the social sphere separately. Here, we must double down our efforts – not just on paper, but in practice, in the work of outpatient clinics and hospitals, schools and universities, cultural and sports facilities, and so on. We must ensure the widest possible dissemination of best regional practices throughout the country. Of course, it is easiest to cite Moscow – but these are among the most striking examples and cannot go unmentioned. I want to speak about Moscow, where, for example, X-ray images are analysed at a single centre within seconds using computer vision. Examinations are carried out to a high standard and more rapidly than before – this is convenient for patients and reduces the burden on medical staff. Furthermore, expensive medical equipment does not stand idle and can serve a greater number of patients within the same timeframe. In short, this is a clear example of how to increase the efficiency of outpatient clinics and hospitals. There are many such examples, and not just in Moscow, including telemedicine, automated appointment scheduling with doctors or other specialists, the use of digital assistants in service delivery, and so on. I have personally observed all of these developments during my visits to the regions. They are functioning effectively. I instruct all agencies in the social sphere, drawing on best practices, to compile a portfolio of breakthrough solutions. These will be mandatory for social organisations participating in the federal project to increase labour productivity. I also ask my colleagues in the social sector to take an active part in drafting the National Strategy for the Development of Digital Platforms. The preparation of this strategy was announced at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June this year. Once again, the potential of digital platforms must be fully realised not only in the economy, industry and trade, but also in healthcare and education. These areas must unconditionally be included in the National Strategy for the Development of Digital Platforms. To be continued.