This Year's Russian Economic Growth Might Make Up 4%

This year's growth of Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) might make up 4%, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov announced on Monday.

The official spoke at an open session of the Consultative Council on Foreign Investments in Russia, which was held in Moscow's President-Hotel.

While two months ago the government predicted the 3.6% growth of GDP, "now we change the forecast up to 4%", Kasyanov pointed out.

According to the premier, the forecast rise in revenues of the population will reach 7% by the end of 2002, and "inflation will not exceed 14%, which will offer an opportunity to provide the decrease of inflation by no less that 2% in 2003." The fact that the parliament's lower chamber - the State Duma - has endorsed the draft 2003 budget in the first reading recently, "witnesses that MPs support the principal propositions of the RF's financial-economic policy and that the legislative and the executive powers are unanimous in their approaches," the Russian head of government remarked.

The key points in the draft budget are reducing no-interest charges, securing macroeconomic stability, decreasing tax burden, focusing on the social sphere, judicial reform and maintaining the federal budget surplus, Kasyanov pointed out.