SOCHI, September 18. /TASS/. Import substitution is not a kind of fetish for Russia, meaning the most important technologies that should be nevertheless developed domestically, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at the Russia-Belarus forum in Sochi.

The import substitution program provides for launching about 2,500 projects in actually all sectors of the economy, the head of state said.

"I want to point out at the same time that the so-called import substitution is not some kind of fetish for us; it primarily means critical technologies, dual-purpose technologies," the president said.

Import substitution for Russia is domestic development of high-technology production facilities, Putin said. "We have to deal with it any case; we should do so. We will simply do it now in an accelerated way and with double effect," the president said.

The new industrial policy law provides for benefits and other kinds of support for investors, Putin said. "The Russian government plans to allocate 2.5 trillion rubles ($38 bln) in total for these purposes," the head of state added. Furthermore, the Russian industry development fund is working successfully, the president said.