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St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

Putin: Russia ready for fiscal policy to encourage business for long-term planning

Putin held talks with Royal Dutch Shell CEO and noted the authorities would promptly respond to all the issues and proposals formulated at the meeting

© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

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Gazprom and Shell sign memorandum of understanding on Baltic LNG project

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. The Russian authorities are ready for fiscal policy that will encourage business to make long-term plans, President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPEF-2016) on Thursday.

"We’re also ready for developing domestic fiscal policy that will encourage companies to make their long-term plans, proceeding from present-day realities and forecasts for the medium-and longer-term perspective," Putin said at a meeting with Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden.

Responding to the CEO’s statement about complex conditions, in which the company was operating, Putin said that the talk was about the problem of slower growth confronted by many economies.

According to the Russian president, this factor also affects the demand for energy products. Putin assured the Royal Dutch Shell CEO that the Russian authorities were well aware that these trends were prompting companies to analyze and forecast developments on the market.

Putin said that Shell had been Russia’s "long-standing and reliable partner." The Russian president suggested that his meeting with the head of Royal Dutch Shell should focus on the problems confronted by the company in Russia and added that he would promptly respond to all the issues and proposals formulated at the meeting.

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

The share of Royal Dutch Shell on the international liquefied natural gas (LNG) market has reached 15%, the company’s CEO said at a meeting with Putin.

According to van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell has completed a transaction to buy assets of British Gas, after which the company has become the largest international player on the LNG market with a 15% share.

Royal Dutch Shell is confident of the future of natural gas and LNG, van Beurden said. The company’s CEO reminded the Russian president of Shell’s cooperation with Gazprom and added he would like to tell Putin about the project of the Baltic LNG facility.

Van Beurden noted that Putin was well informed about the work of Royal Dutch Shell in Russia. The company’s CEO said Shell was firmly determined to continue developing its business in Russia but the company was operating in complex economic conditions in the country. According to van Beurden, this was prompting the company to analyze all its plans.

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Oil & Gas Russia's domestic policy SPIEF 2016

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