St. Petersburg Governor Hopes for Support from Russian and Foreign Firms in 2004 Elections

Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Yakolev will stand for another term in office, as 'this was the decision of the Constitutional Court.' In this, he is counting on the support of businesses 'including foreign ones'. He announced this on Thursday at the opening of the Russian-Italian forum entitled 'Investment Possibilities in Russia'.

The governor said that over his term as governor of St. Petersburg, a range of large foreign companies have arrived in the city, with the result that new workplaces have appeared, and the wealth of the residents has increased. He said that whereas in 1996, the rate foreign investment in the city's economy was not higher than USD 50-70 million per year, the year 2000-2001 saw USD 1 billion 170 million of foreign capital investment into the city's economy.

As Italian Minister for Industry and Foreign Trade Adolfo Urso told journalists, St. Petersburg is the most dynamically developing region of Russia.