Development priorities of Leningrad region and improvement of investment climate were discussed during a meeting with the heads of consulate institutions accredited in Saint Petersburg.
“Leningrad region was, is and will be an open region both for investments and “public diplomacy”, inter-regional and inter-municipal cooperation with partners from various countries. The half of investments in the region is foreign investments and it is important that companies continue expanding their production and creating new jobs,” said the Governor of Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko.
Deputy Chairman of the Government of Leningrad Region – Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development and Investment Activity Dmitry Yalov presented the main indices of socio-economic development of Leningrad region in 2018 and noted that growth rates of key indicators exceed the average in Russia.
He also emphasized that 3-points growth and the 9th place in the National Ranking of Investment Climate is the best confirmation of success of Leningrad region in creation of favourable investment climate and implementation of target models of simplification of business procedures.
According to Dmitry Yalov, one of the priority tasks of the economic team of the Government of Leningrad region is provision of support to foreign partners and keeping leading positions in terms of foreign investments. Now Leningrad region occupies the 6th place among all Russian regions in terms of the volume of attracted foreign direct investment (4.8 billion USD in 2018).
“We not only struggle for foreign investors, but also want to promote Leningrad region as a leading region in Russia with many good practices connected with democracy. As the head of the delegation of the Russian Federation in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe I would like to say that our region has good practices considerable with the European ones: for example, provision of public services via Multifunctional Centres which allows not to address officials directly, or transition to the system of “smart cities” which involves the citizens in management,” added the Governor.