Midkhat Shagiakhmetov: fair competition is a factor in ensuring economic growth and quality of life for Tatarstan citizens
Tatarstan Minister of Economy Midkhat Shagiakhmetov spoke at the annual seminar-meeting on the development of competition in the republic. In his theses, he noted Tatarstan's leadership in many macroeconomic indicators, as well as the attention of the republic's leadership to issues of increasing competition to ensure the growth of the republic's economy.
The Minister noted the relevance and importance of the forum for professional discussions on the development of competition and the search for optimal solutions. He also expressed gratitude to FAS Russia for organizing annual meetings to share experiences. The event became a platform for discussing issues related to the conclusion of concession agreements, regulation of preferences, automation of processes, exchange of regional practices and digital solutions for government authorities.
"The leadership of the Republic of Tatarstan pays considerable attention to the development of competition, since fair competition is an important factor in ensuring the growth of the region's economy and the quality of life of our citizens," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
He also said that Tatarstan is a leading region in many macroeconomic indicators: in terms of gross regional product, it occupies the 7th place, industrial production – the 5th place, agricultural products – the 3rd place, construction – the 2nd place, investments in fixed assets – the 6th place, retail trade turnover – the 7th place. At the same time, an important component of economic development is the support of small and medium-sized businesses as the most competitive sector.
An indicator of the development of a competitive environment is the annual growth of entrepreneurial activity. There are more than 182 thousand small and medium-sized businesses in Tatarstan. Thanks to a set of government support measures, their number is growing annually, as is the number of people employed by businesses. Today, about 837,000 people work in the SME sector.
"We are consistently implementing a set of measures focused on the needs of entrepreneurs and based on regular feedback from the business community, considering small and medium-sized businesses as one of the key drivers of sustainable growth," the minister said.
In the republic, the development of a competitive environment in the markets of goods, works, and services is carried out in accordance with the National Competition Development Plan and the Competition Development Standard in the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation.
In 2019, the order of the Head of the Republic of Tatarstan approved a list of commodity markets to promote competition in the region and a roadmap until 2025. According to the results of last year, all the target values of the performance benchmarks set in the regional roadmap were met.
Tatarstan is also traditionally represented in the "white paper" of the best practices of competition development, formed by the FAS of Russia. As an example of best practices, the Minister cited the solutions posted on the website zakonkurency.rf:
- IT Park (supporting creative youth and attracting investments);
- partner financing (providing alternatives to traditional products);
- The Rural Store project (purchase of quality goods by the population at affordable prices);
- the resource "Import Substitution Center" based on the Republican Marketing Center.
"Thanks to the activities of the FAS, competition policy is steadily developing, and changes in antimonopoly legislation are being initiated," Midkhat Shagiakhmetov concluded.