Tiraspol, 7 July. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Pridnestrovian International Economic Forum, which lasted two days, finished in Tiraspol. Moderators summarised the forum results, highlighting the conclusions made by economists, politicians, entrepreneurs and public activists.
As noted by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Yury Ganin, over 600 persons took part in the forum. In addition to 15 events, an exhibition of domestic products made by 32 enterprises was organised at the PIEF.
«The main outcome of the forum should be the rapid conduct of reforms because you have no time," said Pavel Sigal, vice president of Opora Rossii. The Russian expert was a moderator of the round table discussion «Pridnestrovie's Banking Sector. Challenges and Obstacles.» According to him, agriculture should be the main driver of the Pridnestrovian economy since there are natural conditions for its development.
«If in the Soviet Union melons and gourds, and vegetables accounted for 40% of Pridnestrovie's arable land and cereals accounted for 60%, now cereals account for 95% of the arable land, and what you were famous for and where you could achieve the maximum result account for less than 5%. It was a real shock to me," said Sigal, referring to Eximbank's report.
The report, according to Sigal, provided comparative data on the volume of products from one hectare in monetary terms. Today, it is $333 from one hectare, and during the USSR it was $3,000.
There is no collateral instrument in Pridnestrovie, so banks are reluctant to give credits to farmers at low-interest rates, Sigal explains. Land in the country is state owned and cannot be bought, sold and let.
«Whether you want to or not, the problem is to be solved. Without the involvement of land in the economic and financial sector, without any serious collateral instrument to finance agriculture, there will be no powerful economic driver and a system for increasing export potential," said Sigal.
The moderator of the panel «The Economy of Pridnestrovie: Ways to Overcome the Crisis and Prospects for Development”, journalist Konstantin Topalov, underscored that the economic policy of the previous decades had been exhausted. According to him, during this period the economy was growing at the expense of consumption growth, which was accompanied by an increase in taxes and the waste of money received from the privatisation of 2002−2011, as well as of money from the gas account.
«Now, like it or not, it is time for reforms," said Topalov.
The panel discussed the prospect of reducing the tax burden on the economy from 35% to 25% of GDP. The government plans to compensate for the shortfall in budget revenues by reducing the hidden sector of the economy, increased taxable base and reduced government spending. In the meantime, Topalov voiced the common opinion on the devaluation of the rouble, stating that it could have a positive effect in six months.
Topalov called the understanding of the inevitability and necessity of systemic reforms, however painful they may be, as the forum's outcome, but without the support of society they can be stalling.
A road map, which was developed by the government over the past six months, should facilitate these reforms. It outlines a set of measures that include reducing tax burdens, administrative pressure on business and the development of the tax economy. This was discussed at the panel Improving Domestic Business Conditions, which was summed up by journalist Lidiya Salkutsan.
The moderator of the round table discussion «From the Development of Science and Education to the Development of the Pridnestrovian Economy”, the first vice rector of the Pridnestrovian university, Nikolay Smolensky, noted that the economic reform would be successful if the state had a specific strategy for the development of science and education. The participants recommended that a comprehensive document should be elaborated on this issue, and Smolensky explained that such a document would be ready within the next week.
The round table spoke about such an important factor in economic development as human capital, whose level is determined by access to good education and health care. To ensure it is one of the main tasks of the state. This was declared by the moderator of the conference «Experience of Introduction of Compulsory Health Insurance in the CIS», Professor Rostislav Okushko.
Amid the recession of the export-driven and open Pridnestrovian economy, there is a special hope for increased exports, said the moderator of the panel «Support for Pridnestrovian Manufacturers' Access to Foreign Markets and Export Support, Yury Cheban. The reduced tax burden on exporters, long cheap loans, preferential energy tariffs and optimised customs regulation should be important elements of export support, explained Cheban.
The panel «The Development of the Investment Potential of Pridnestrovie» discussed the improvement of investment climate. Its host, Yury Ganin, announced that a law on investment would be drafted soon to equalise the rights of external and local investors and provide them with appropriate guarantees.
