Andrei Nikitin Praises TIDA’s Investment Promotion Efforts

Vedomosti has published an opinion article by Andrei Nikitin, General Director of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), in which he praises the investment promotion work that has been done by the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.

«The first thing that we tried to do when we created ASI was to analyze what the regions of Russia with Gross Regional Product growth higher than the national average were doing,” he writes in the beginning of the article, entitled “Main roles: Four Sources of Economic Growth.” “There are some regions that have demonstrated GRP growth of more than 5% annually, and they are very difficult to compare: they are absolutely different in resources, position, and skills».

In the article, the Republic of Tatarstan is portrayed as a region that has mastered working with investors, attracting Foreign Direct Investment, and promoting itself on the global arena.

«What we found was that the fastest-growing regions had a clearly-defined mechanism for attracting investment and work with investors to help them expand,” Niktin wrote. “For example, Tatarstan of the last year has increased Foreign Direct Investment six fold, from $99 million to $577 million, thanks to the creation of an investment promotion agency. Today the Russian Federation is known globally not for a national investment promotion agency but as the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency».

Further in the article Nikitin identifies necessary conditions for economic growth: effective regional leadership, dialogue with business, education and professional development, and case study approach to planning.

Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Press Service