MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is close to approving a plan to turn Moscow into an international financial center, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.
“A staged plan of action or so-called roadmap must be approved soon and it must be strictly complied with,” said Medvedev, who first floated the financial center idea in 2008 when he was president.
A modern and effective regulatory system and a developed domestic financial market are the key conditions for creating an international financial center in Moscow, Medvedev said .
The Russian government is currently examining several options for the center’s location, including the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye district in western Moscow.
Creating an international financial center is an ambitious task for Russia, Medvedev said.
“When I hear judgments that all this is just a pipe-dream, when we talk about creating a financial center, and that we need to get into some ratings - those who do not set ambitious goals will find themselves on the sidelines of history,” Medvedev said.
“We talk much about the need to develop the real sector of the economy, but the world cannot exist without finance and we must hold a worthy place in this world,” Medvedev added.
In 2010, World Bank economist Lucio Vinhas de Souza dismissed the idea of turning Moscow into an international financial center as unrealistic, saying the country was not yet perceived as an attractive market and had little to offer foreign investors.
