Russian ex-Finance Minister says investments in Russia fell by 7 times
The former head of the Russia Ministry of Finance and head of the Center for Strategic Research, Alexei Kudrin, said that in the recent years, including the period after the introduction of sanctions, direct foreign investment in the Russian economy declined sevenfold. Kudrin discussed this issue during the Moscow Exchange Forum 2017 in New York, RBC news agency reports.
"Foreign direct investment in our country used to reach 70 billion dollars a year before the crisis of 2009 and immediately after it. This year, the amount is likely to be $10 billion. It is a noticeable change, and it is due to the imposition of sanctions," Kudrin said. He added that Russia had lost about 0.5% of its GDP over the past two to three years because of the sanctions. In 2013-2015, this figure was 1% of GDP.
In late September, Kudrin, in commenting on the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Russia, said that they bore reputational damage. "It's very unpleasant to stand alongside Iran and Korea. And in general, in this sense, the law carries new risks for Russia’s image," the former head of the Russian Finance Ministry said.
The United States and the European Union first introduced sanctions against Russia in 2014 after the annexation of the Crimea by Russia. In August 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new bill, which fixed these restrictions at a legislative level and allowed for the limiting of Russian companies in oil and gas projects. The U.S. Treasury announced that these amendments would be effective as of November 28th.