MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russia counters external restrictions with greater openness, and not by plugging the gateway to its economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a full-scale session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

"We respond to foreign restrictions not by shutting the gateway to our economy, but with greater freedom and openness. This is not a fine catch phrase, but the content of our real policy, of the work that we have been conducting for the sake of creating conditions for doing business and identifying new partners and new markets and participating in major integration projects," Putin said.

He emphasized the idea that the main thrust of the import substitution program was not to close the domestic market to outsiders and isolate it from the world economy.

"We’ve got to master the skill of making top quality competitive products that are in great demand inside Russia and on the world, global markets. In the final count the task is to better and more effectively tap the domestic opportunities for addressing development issues," Putin said.

He sees a vast potential in machine building, petrochemical industry, light and manufacturing industries, pharmaceutics and some other industries. Putin noted quite an impressive example set by the agri-industrial complex. The production of dairy products in the first four months of this year was up 260%, of butter by 8.7%, of cheese, by 29%, of fish and seafood, by 6%, and of meat, by 12-13%.

Transfer of foreign technologies to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to prepare additional proposals on the mechanism of transfer of foreign technologies to Russia.

Speaking at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg economic forum, Putin said this should be a systematic effort involving "capitals of the institutes for development."

"I ask the government and business associations to offer specific additional proposals in this regard including on creating an appropriate format of cooperation of the state and business in the sphere of transfer of technologies," Putin said.

Russia already has "a successful experience" of a transfer of technologies in pharmaceuticals, automobile construction and consumer goods manufacturing, the president said.

The relevant proposal on establishing an efficient system of foreign technologies transfer was voiced at the recent Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia) forum in Moscow in late May.