The Russian Prime Minister Believes That The Economic Development In The Country Is Becoming More Stable

The favourable economic and stable political situation in Russia has created conditions when the Russian entrepreneurs have become confident that the government will not take "unexpected and illogical decisions" and that there will be no sharp changes in the economy. This was stated by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Wednesday at the meeting with representatives of the business quarters of the Czech Republic. He reminded the audience that in the past few years all the branches of the economy in Russia had been successfully developing. For example, the Gross Domestic Product has grown by three times; industrial production is on the rise; foreign investments went up by 18 percent in 2000, and by 7-8 percent - in 2001. Mikhail Kasyanov noted that unlike the previous two years, the economic growth rests now on the internal demand, not on exports. This means that the economic development is becoming more stable, underscored the Prime Minister. He said that the government had been seriously working of late on the improvement of the legislative basis which is now more conforms with the principles of a market economy and an economic freedom, though with a certain regulation on the part of the state. Mikhail Kasyanov said that the achievements of the Cabinet of Ministers included the reforming of natural monopolies, the creation of the competition sphere in the railway transport and the power industry. "I hope that planned and system measures in this sphere will lead not only to the improvement in competition, but also to the growth in investments in this sphere of the economy," said the Russian Prime Minister.