North Caucasus to face big changes

The State Program for the Development of the North Caucasus until 2025 has been approved by the Russian government. The two-year work on
developing the program has been successful. The main work on the
document was conducted under the supervision of the Plenipotentiary
Representative of the President of Russia in the North Caucasus
Federal District, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin.

The decision to adopt the program was announced today by Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev during the discussion of the document at a
governmental meeting.

Medvedev said that the program will create centers of economic growth,
industrial tourism and recreation zones, will coordinate business and
governmental strategies in the region. The state program is largely
aimed at finding solutions to social issues in North Caucasus Federal
District.

The Prime Minister commented on the creation of a tourist cluster in
North Caucasus on September 1, 2012, saying that it would become "a
source not only of money," but it will create more than 15 thousand or
even more new jobs.

At the first stage of development of the program from 2013 to 2020,
the North Caucasus Federal District will receive about 235 billion
rubles. Funding for the final stage will require further definition of
the scope and sources of funding.

The program includes the following sections: "Development of the
investment attractiveness of the North Caucasus Federal District,"
"Development of the specially-protected eco-resort region of the
Russian Federation - the Kavkazskie Mineralnye Vody" and  "Development
of the tourism cluster in the North Caucasus Federal District,
Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea."