The Republic of Tatarstan gives a lot of thought to its competitive advantages and further development, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said in Saint-Petersburg at a business lunch on behalf of the World Economic Forum’s president Klaus Schwab. The business lunch was arranged during the annual World Economic Forum in Saint-Petersburg.

Each federation constituent today must find an own path of development and uncover its potential, all the conditions for this are in place, R. Minnikhanov said. The priorities for Tatarstan are oil recovery, petrochemistry and mechanical engineering. “We set ourselves a task to seriously develop these areas,” Tatarstan’s chief executive said.

The hydrocarbon recovery rates are planned to be kept up within the next 30 years and refining of oil recovered in the region increased to be increased to a maximum. The republic until recently processed locally up to 7 million tonnes of oil but from this year the volume will be doubled.

The republic has a strong base for developing petrochemistry, since Tatarstan is the national leader in plastics, rubbers and other items manufacturing.

“We need to keep all these competitive advantages,” R. Minnikhanov said. The mechanical engineering branch has a serious potential, since the large manufacturers Kamaz and Sollers operate here.

Another task the Tatarstan authorities aim to resolve is building a middle class. The country lacks self-sufficient, proactive and enterprising people, a middle class, R. Minnikhanov holds, which is why it should be formed. Only well-educated, modern and enterprising people can fulfil themselves and grow nowadays, he is convinced. This is why the republic is conducting a large education reform, both in secondary and higher education.

“Our country today should be open for investors,” R. Minnikhanov said. “We must make investors believe in us,” the President of Tatarstan’s press service cites him as saying.