VLADIVOSTOK, September 12. /TASS/. The Russian economy needs migrants, but it will not require a large amount of migrant labor if new technologies are introduced, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) plenary session.
"The economy, of course, requires the use of migrant labor in certain sectors. The share in the construction sector is the highest - I think, about 33% of all construction workers are migrants. […] If we need a migrant influx, we must pick those that are truly necessary for the development of the national economy. But there is another way - a simple yet at the same time complicated solution. The simplicity lies in the fact that we will, probably, not require a high influx of migrants, if we introduce new technologies that do not require a large number of workers," the president said.
The complexity, he said, lies in another task - in developing the country’s technology, in renewing the production base and so on, because this goal is impossible to achieve "today or tomorrow," as this would require major capital investments, firm actions and work in this direction.
"There are numerous ways to resolve this problem, it only requires work, and we will do just that," the Russian leader concluded.
Meanwhile, Putin noted that the migrant issue is easier for Russia than for European countries or the US, because the migrant influx mostly comes from former Soviet republics.
"It’s easier for us to work with them, the leaders of their countries understand everything and are ready to cooperate with us. We set up pre-entry education programs with many states for the people who want to come here. What is that, exactly? What are we talking about? We are talking about these people studying the Russian language, laws of the Russian Federation. It is necessary that the people understand that, if they have come to another country, they have to comply with our traditions and culture and so on. There is a lot of work to be done," the head of state explained.
This, according to the president, is a very important moment for Russian citizens as well, because the migrant influx must not become a source of ire for them.
"This is the most important thing. We, of course, must think about the interests of the people of the Russian Federation, first and foremost," Putin said.
He underscored that the share of migrants in the Russian labor market is not that high - only 3.7%. However, it is very important to prevent migrant ghettos from popping up in Russia, as happens in some other countries, Putin noted.
"We must take this into account and prevent such things from happening in our country at all costs, this being a very sensitive time in the history of the Russian state," the president concluded.
About the forum
The 8th Eastern Economic Forum takes place in Vladivostok on September 10-13. Its motto is "On the way to cooperation, peace and prosperity." It is organized by the Roscongress Foundation; TASS is the general information partner of the event.