Russian businessmen have a responsibility to help improve the economic and social situation in the country's volatile North Caucasus region, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
Medvedev arrived in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan earlier on Thursday, following the recent terrorist attacks in Moscow and the Dagestani town of Kizlyar.
An impoverished, mountainous region, the North Caucasus has been plagued by militant violence for years, with attacks on police, soldiers and officials a daily occurrence. It has also seen two brutal separatist wars in Chechnya.
"Investments should not only be focused on Moscow and abroad; we need to pay our debts," Medvedev said in an address to a meeting in the region's capital of Makhachkala,
Medvedev recently appointed former Krasnoyarsk governor and business executive Alexander Khloponin as presidential envoy to the newly-created North Caucasus Federal District.
Another well-known Russian businessman, Roman Abramovich, served as governor of Russia's most northeasterly Chukotka region from 2000 to 2008. During this period, Abramovich invested over $1.3 billion of his money in the region's economy. As a result, the living standards in Chukotka were significantly improved, attracting investors.
Medvedev said the goal for tougher action against terrorism in the North Caucasus should also focus on developing the region's economy and strengthening moral and spiritual aspects of society.
The Russian president has asked Khloponin to provide "new proposals" on the programs, financial aid and employment in the North Caucasus. Last week Khloponin introduced an ambitious $15-billion project to create a tourist industry in the North Caucasus aiming to attract visitors and create jobs.
MAKHACHKALA, April 1 (RIA Novosti)
