Zee Beam News

MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) - "The gradual slowdown of the economic growth pace we are witnessing now is due to the slowdown of reforms and low level of trust between business and authorities," Russian Economic Development Minister German Gref announced at a meeting in the Federation Council on Friday. When reforms were more intensive, their effect on the economy was greater, he added. The minister spoke in favor of developing civil institutions. He believes they are "of principal importance for creating market mechanisms trusted by citizens." Now "we feel an acute deficit of civil institutions' representation in the activities of the state authorities," he said. The economy can be divided into real and virtual, he pointed out. Real economy takes up only 30%, he believes, while 70% is "how adequately we create business's perception of the economy." "The economy should be shaped so as to have as much business as possible and as much state as necessary plus a little more," Mr. Gref maintained. The state's regulatory function should not be underestimated, but the institution of self-regulation should also be developed, he pointed out. "Practice has shown that self-regulating organizations increase the transparency of the authorities. It is a good anti-corruption mechanism," the minister concluded.