MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Russia plans to gradually reduce the budget deficit to 1% of the GDP in the next few years, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated on Friday.
"The main measure to strengthen financial stability is to bring the budget deficit to a normal level at an estimated 1% of the GDP. This year we have planned for a deficit of slightly above 2% � about 2.4%. In the coming years, we plan to reduce this number to 1%," Siluanov said in an interview with the Russia 24 broadcaster.
According to the minister, the government's priority is to affirm the feasibility of its plans to normalize fiscal policy and bring it to the normal levels of deficit financing.
"This will allow us to finance planned expenses and to have fairly stable opportunities to attract domestic borrowing," he stressed.
Russia's Federal budget deficit totaled 4.1 trillion rubles ($55.7 billion) or 3.8% of the GDP in 2020, which was better than the expected 4.4%.
