Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting at the Forum with regional leaders devoted to inter-budgetary relations, the governor told the Tyumen Line News Agency.

“We discussed current issues – where everyone is hurting, as they say. There was a lively discussion and several rather pressing issues in the dialogue with the federal government representatives. Today work is under way on a strategic document concerning the main areas of the government’s work. The prime minister stressed that the opinion of the regions is very important”, Yakushev said.

Medvedev challenged the regions to increase investments, develop business, help entrepreneurs and decrease administrative barriers, the governor added.

“The Sochi format does not provide for a kind summarization of who are the best performers and who is lagging behind. This is done at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum where a national rating for regional investment activity is announced. In Sochi there was no praise and no criticism. We spoke about work to further develop the Russian economy”, Yakushev said.

Moreover, common positive trends were noted for the entire country at the Russian Investment Forum, he said

“The country’s gross domestic product is not declining. We are seeing the lowest inflation since 2014 – just over five percent. In 2015, this indicator was roughly 14 percent. It was also noted that the regions of the Russian Federation are no longer increasing their debt. Overall, the situation remains rather tense, but there are positive dynamics”, Yakushev said.

Source: Tyumen Line News Agency