Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, held a strategic session on the investment climate and target business models in the VKS format. The Governor of the Murmansk region Andrey Chibis took part in it.
During the session, the improvement of the investment climate was discussed. Mikhail Mishustin noted that on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation is forming a national model of targeted business conditions, which will determine the main directions for the next 5 years.
The Head of Government said that the country has taken a number of measures to stimulate entrepreneurial initiative and ease business conditions, primarily in terms of the administrative burden: compared to 2019, it has decreased by almost 4 times. In addition, control activities are being reformed, helping to reduce financial costs for entrepreneurs, and a regional investment standard has been introduced, which has improved the efficiency of working with investors in Russian regions.
"Despite external pressure, investors continue to systematically finance Russian projects. In particular, according to the results of last year, investments in fixed assets increased by almost 7.5% in real terms," Mikhail Mishustin emphasized.
The Murmansk Region is actively working with businesses and the business community. The regional government creates conditions for the implementation of large infrastructure investment projects. We have two free economic zones – the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and the Capital of the Arctic Priority Development Area, whose residents receive various benefits and preferences. The Murmansk Region is the leader in the number of residents in the Russian Arctic.
"1.5 trillion rubles have already been invested in the development of the Murmansk Region since 2019, 8.5 thousand jobs have been created, and the region is in the top 10 in Russia in terms of GRP per capita. In addition, the region's investment portfolio includes projects with investments of about 3.2 trillion rubles for the next 10 years. Thanks to the development of the economy, we are also actively investing in improving the quality of life of Northerners," Governor Andrey Chibis commented on the session. In addition, much attention is paid to socio-economic partnership: key partners are actively investing in the improvement of the region.
Among the landmark projects being implemented and implemented in the Murmansk Region are the NOVATEK Large–capacity Offshore Facilities Construction Center in Belokamenka, the new Lavna seaport, the Kola Wind farm, the Murmansk transport hub, and the lithium mining project, which has no analogues in the world. In addition, following the results of the International Arctic Forum held in Murmansk at the end of March, President Vladimir Putin stressed the need to strictly comply with the Murmansk Region gasification plan until 2030: previously, the Murmansk Region Government headed by Governor Andrey Chibis conducted systematic work on the project initiation at all levels.
In addition, the region stimulates the development of medium and small businesses.: We have 51 measures in place to support SMEs – over 5 years they have been supported by more than 1.4 billion rubles. Among them is the Governor's Start program, which was launched on the initiative of the head of the region as part of the "Live in the North!" plan in 2020: within its framework, small and medium–sized businesses and individuals can apply for grants of up to 2 million rubles, and from 2020 to 2024, 164 The project received support for the amount of about 184 million rubles. There are also grants for franchises, grants for young and social entrepreneurs, regional subsidies, innovation vouchers, and preferential microloans in the Murmansk Region. A number of Murmansk brands, such as "Medveditsa", "T-shirt 51 North" and Arctic.sup, have already announced themselves at the All-Russian competition "Know our people". Within the framework of the International Arctic Forum, the Platform for Growth program was launched, in which various companies from the Kola Arctic Region, manufacturers of clothing, jewelry, food, dietary supplements and other goods, can already participate.
In 2023, the Murmansk Region fully implemented the Regional Investment Standard (FIGURE 2.0). And in 2024, the region became one of the pilot regions that implemented a business feedback collection system (POS Business). In addition, at the end of 2024, the implementation of the minimum required set of investment instruments to support investment projects in all municipalities of the Murmansk region was completed, by analogy with the regional investment standard. In particular, the necessary regulatory framework has been prepared, municipal investment committees have been established to address problematic issues of investors at the local level, and others. In total, the standard includes 10 blocks. The Institute of Investment Commissioners is working to assist entrepreneurs, and the Investment Portal of the Murmansk Region has been launched.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /
Photo: The Russian Government.