Dmitri Medvedev last month signed the federal bill paving the way Russian membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The bill was approved by the Federation Council on March 28.
Visiting Kirovsk this week, the Russian President discussed the ups and downs for the domestic industry following the WTO entry. Medvedev had the boy-with-big-toy-smile when he got chance to steer one of the Apatit mining company’s enormous trucks outside the fertilizers producer’s fabric centrally on the Kola Peninsula.
The WTO accession is a victory for Medvedev who has had the membership as a top priority all through his presidency. WTO approved Russian membership in December last year. The World Bank believes joining the WTO will boost Russian GDP by an additional 3,3% a year in the near term, which should generate a total growth of 11% over the year, Nasdaq reports.
Following the growth, average Russian salaries are expected to boost. That was good news for the workers at Apatit mining company that Medvedev has a chat with during his Kola visit.
Dmitri Medvedev also met with newly appointed acting governor of Murmansk Oblast, Marina Kovtun. The President’s visit to the region comes only one week after governor Dmitri Dmitrienko was dismissed. Development of winter-tourism and energy efficiency was topics on the agenda.
The Russian President said that he will instruct the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy to examine the possibility of establishing a downhill skiing training base in the Khibiny Mountains, near Kirovsk.
