OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2010. The costs involved in crossing the customs border are sometimes unpredictable and discourage investors from opening new production facilities in Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said at a meeting on the country’s investment climate.

The President cited the need to remove legislative barriers impeding development of trade relations and noted that this problem affects Russian producers too, including potential exporters of high-technology products.

The Customs Union’s development prospects were also discussed at the meeting. Noting the project’s scale, Mr Medvedev said that this customs union, formed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, aims to make the three countries’ economies stronger and more stable in an environment of regional and global competition. The President said it is important at the same time, however, to ensure that the Customs Union offers comfortable conditions for investors from other countries.  

Among those taking part in the meeting were First Deputy Prime Ministers Viktor Zubkov and Igor Shuvalov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina, Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Ignatyev, head of the Federal Customs Service Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Gennady Onishchenko, and representatives of the Finance Ministry, Federal Tax Service, and Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.