MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin has promised that the authorities will do their best to ensure that foreign investors feel comfortable in Russia. Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of large German companies he noted the improvement of the national legislation.
"We will remove excessive administrative barriers, invest significant resources in infrastructure, do everything necessary so that foreign investors, including German ones, feel comfortable in our country," the President said.
Putin recalled that the government supports foreign investors via the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and those companies which localize their production in Russia grant the access to most state support measures. He noted not so many countries do the same for foreign companies.
He also mentioned special economic zones and territories of advanced development that were created in many regions where investors receive benefits and can significantly reduce their capital expenditures.
According to the Russian leader the national economy is now "on the rise."
"In January-September of this year, industrial production growth amounted to 3%, including the manufacturing industry - 3.3%, the volume of agricultural production over the past five years has increased by more than 20%. Russian exports of food and agricultural raw materials for the last year added 21 %, exceeding $20 billion, and in January-July [2018] grew by another third, "Putin said.
He drew attention to the fact that "the volume of agricultural exports in monetary terms exceeded the export of military products: exports of military-industrial enterprises amounted to $15 bln, while exports of agricultural products totaled $20 bln.
According to Putin, the unemployment remains at a record low level - 4.5% and inflation does not exceed 3.5%.