Oleg Dautov: We see that the Ministry of Economy has done a lot of work to improve the investment climate.

The next meeting of the expert group on monitoring the implementation of the Standard of Government activities to ensure a favorable investment climate in the Omsk region was held on October 14.

This time, the experts were asked to evaluate the work carried out by the Ministry of Economy over the 6 months of this year on the implementation of the region's investment strategy, the preparation of a regulatory framework for investors, and the results of meetings of the Governor's Investment Council.

Minister of EconomyOksana Fadina spoke about the implementation of project management for the implementation of the Strategy of Socio-economic Development of the Omsk region, including the investment strategy. 

The Minister also paid attention to the ongoing process of supporting entrepreneurship through subsidies and grants, as well as working with the Corporation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises under the 6.5 Program. At the moment, the process of connecting banks to support two investment projects of Omsk industrial and agricultural enterprises is underway.

Head of the Investment Department of the Ministry of EconomyEvgeny Kovtun informed the experts about the regulatory legal acts aimed at creating a favorable investment climate. In particular, they discussed the development of public-private and municipal-private partnerships. According toEvgenia Kovtun, all municipalities of the Omsk region have finally made changes to their charters, providing for the possibility of emergency procedures. In addition, work continues on improving legislation related to the Register of Priority Investment Projects (RAPIP).

"We are supplementing the criteria and clarifying the reporting requirements, which will allow us to more accurately monitor the development of investment projects implemented on land plots obtained without bidding. At the moment, we have five projects in the RPIP for a total investment of 6.9 billion rubles. One of the projects, which received land by decree of the Governor, has already commissioned the facility. I'm talking now about the hatchery in the Kormilovsky district," he said.Evgeny Kovtun. 

President of the Omsk Chamber of Commerce and IndustryTatiana Khoroshavina asked about the work of public advisory councils under the heads of municipal districts regarding the inclusion of entrepreneurs.

Minister Oksana Fadina confirmed the importance of the issue, spoke about the process of including entrepreneurs of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the councils under the heads, and then showed the experts the work plan of the Council on Investment and Competition Development under the Governor of the Omsk Region. In particular, issues on the results of the cluster development of the region, on the assessment of the regulatory impact of draft regulatory legal acts of the Omsk region, on the interaction of investors with resource supply organizations, etc. will be considered in the near future.

"Of course, we need to work on the implementation of the investment council protocols. Unfortunately, not all authorities are ready to respond promptly to the problems identified by the council members," the Minister said.

As part of the discussion of ways to involve the business community in the legislative process, special attention was paid to the procedure for assessing the regulatory impact of draft regulatory legal acts. Deputy Minister of EconomyAnna Negoduiko spoke in detail about the implementation of ODS in the region.

"We see a growing interest in regulatory impact assessment procedures from both business and other authorities. ODS is increasingly being conducted by the Ministry of Property and the Ministry of Industry, representatives of the business community are increasingly participating in public discussions of draft laws, and public councils are involved in the process. But there is no need to stop there. We are currently working on the introduction of ODS in six districts of the region, where the largest number of entrepreneurs are concentrated," she notedAnna Negoduiko.

The experts expressed interest in more active participation in the RIA procedures, and therefore expressed the need to promptly inform them about the preparation of draft laws.

Oksana Fadina emphasized that entrepreneurs themselves can initiate bills and offer their own vision of solutions to systemic problems. And the director of the OMEX-LEX law firmAlexander Dmitrenko presented a question related to the amount of rent for a land plot based on the market value of the land. The Minister invited Dmitrienko to join the work of the Public Council of the Ministry of Property and initiate a discussion of this topic there, suggesting solutions.

"For our part, we will also get involved. If there is a need to discuss acute problems at the intersection of the interests of government authorities and entrepreneurs, then we hold joint meetings of public councils, where we stand up for the interests of the business community," she assuredOksana Fadina.

Three more requirements of the Standard related to the activities of a specialized organization – the Agency for Development and Investment of the Omsk region, namely: the work carried out in 6 months to support investors, support of investment projects in a "one-stop shop" mode and an investment portal. These requirements of the Standard were assessed by experts as "partially fulfilled", since the launch of the unified investment portal is planned for November, but for now information for investors is simultaneously posted on the websites of the Ministry of Economy, the Agency for Development and Investment and the Omsk Region Development Corporation, which is in liquidation. There is no full-fledged English version on these resources.  

Summing up, the Chairman of the expert groupOleg Dautov noted that the Ministry of Economy is conducting thorough methodological work.

"We see that work is underway, and it is consistent. I really want this to lead to practical results. But the main thing is that you, the authorities, hear us and try to use this in your work. I hope that soon we will see a single investment portal that will meet both the requirements of the Standard and our expectations," concludedOleg Dautov.

It should be noted that the expert group on monitoring the implementation of the Standard of Government Activities to ensure a favorable investment climate evaluates the work of the Ministry of Economy every two months in accordance with the requirements of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.