Moscow Times 21 June 2012
Nearly 5,000 investors leaned forward in their seats during Dmitry Medvedev’s keynote address at the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg last year, eagerly waiting to hear whether he would run for a second term as president.
But Medvedev refused to spill the beans, saying only that “every story should have intrigue, otherwise it’s not interesting to live.”
He promised, however, to reveal his plans soon.
Indeed, the announcement came three months later at a United Russia convention, when Medvedev said he would step aside for Vladimir Putin.
So it will be Putin, who last month returned to the Kremlin for a third term and immediately reshuffled the government, who welcomes business leaders to this year’s forum Thursday with a keynote speech some hope will clarify the new government’s priorities, particularly the economic modernization policy initiated by Medvedev.
“I would like to better understand the priorities that the government has today in order to see where we as an IT company could be useful,” said Alexander Mikoyan, head of Hewlett-Packard in Russia.
He said an overview of the government’s strategic goals would help investors understand how to further develop business here.
Uwe Kumm, managing partner for Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states for Roland Berger Strategy Consulting, said he would like to understand Putin’s view on Russia’s economic growth.
Specifically, he wants to know how Putin plans to improve the investment climate and develop nonextraction industries like heavy machinery, chemicals production and infrastructure to diversify the economy.
Philippe Pegorier, Russia president and chief executive of French engineering giant Alstom, echoed those thoughts.