ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. Russia’s strength will be growing with the Arctic, where major mineral resources are found, President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"Western Siberia has been traditionally developed since Soviet times - I mean those mineral resources which the whole country still uses," he said, noting that the center of economic development was gradually shifting further eastwards and northwards.
"Whereas before it was said that Russia would be growing with Siberia, now we can say that Russia will be growing with the Arctic, because we have the main mineral resources there. They are still difficult and expensive to tap, but nevertheless, this is a very big prospect. In fact, this is precisely what we have been doing," he added.
Putin noted that Russia had started this process with the most problem regions of the Far East in terms of territory preservation and depopulation rates.
"I hope it is noticeable what has been done over the past 10 years regarding the development of the Far East. I won't list everything now, but we have a vast program. The same applies to Siberia in general," he said.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is running on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.