ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. The Russian army needs to be modernized pronto, as this will have a far-reaching impact on the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"Russia has shown a high level of readiness and receptivity to technological transformation. We see how our financial sector, e-commerce, transportation services and the public administration system have already changed," he said.
"Similar processes are starting to unfold in the Armed Forces, where we also need a high pace of technological upgrade," the president emphasized, describing this issue as being of the utmost importance for the country.
The president stated that the world is seeing technological breakthroughs in almost all areas of life. According to Putin, this is drastically transforming processes in management and production, even entire industries.
"Obviously, those countries that not only come up with new solutions, but are also capable of securing their rapid and pre-emptive implementation, will be able to take full advantage of technological progress," he said.
Putin said with confidence that both in present conditions and in the long term, the role, influence and future of countries depend on how effectively they can respond to global challenges, implement their domestic potential, utilize their competitive advantages and mitigate their weaknesses, as well as preserve and enhance relations of partnership with other countries.
Welcoming the SPIEF participants, Putin indicated that more than 12,000 people from over 100 countries had come to attend the forum this year.
"Among them are shareholders and top managers of leading companies, renowned experts and analysts as well as political, public and government figures. Traditionally, the St. Petersburg forum offers an opportunity not only to establish business contacts, agree on cooperation and give the go-ahead to promising projects, but also to exchange views on current trends in global and regional markets in an open discussion and to look through the prism of economic relations at the processes that are dynamically developing in the modern world," the Russian president said.