Russian Premier urges machine building development

By developing machine building Russia may shrug off dependence on natural resources exports, Russian federal Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

Support for exports of machine building products and tax benefits are among the measures that will help boost the industry, according to the premier.

"It is not of subsidies and tax exemptions that the industry needs. The task is to boost sales so that machine building enterprises had funds to invest and could raise productivity," said the premier.

When dwelling on the current state of Russia's machine building, Mr Kasyanov said no breakthroughs had been achieved in the industry in recent years.

The industry's share in GDP makes up a mere 18%, which is twice as little than in European Union countries.

The development of processing industry, of which machine building is a part, is a mid-term economic objective, said the premier.