Ramazan Abdullatipov: Dagestan does not need to be fed, Dagestan needs development

The VI Congress of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia opened today in Moscow. The Chairman of the Board of the Assembly and acting head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdullatipov, gave to Vestnik Kavkaza his commentary on the work of the Forum and current issues of life in Dagestan.

According to him, the main topic of this meeting was to analyze what the organization has done in 15 years. The second most important task is the analysis of the strategy of the state national policy and the search for possible participation of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia in the implementation of this strategy. "And a number of initiatives, including legislative initiatives, will be sent to the deputies, proposals for the development of programs, including cultural adaptation of migrants, etc. A lot of issues. We have the so-called School of Friendship of the Peoples, which is already working. We have a festival of national cultures "Rainbow of Russia." The Assembly of the Peoples of Russia has a lot to offer in the field of the implementation of the strategy of the state national policy," the Acting Head of Dagestan said.

As for Dagestan, Abdullatipov believes that the situation in the republic is stabilizing. "The fact is that I found a republic, when it was "fed", but not treated, and secondly, the republic was fed, but not developed. The fact is that the main sectors of development of the country are close to zero level. Oil, gas, fish, and everything that the republic has, has been brought to a very low level. Specifically, if we used to produce 2.4 million tons of oil in the 1980s, now it is about 200 thousand tons. If we used to raise 380 thousand tons of grapes, now in the best years it is 100 thousand tons. Fisheries and the Caspian Sea, in fact, contribute not a single penny to the budget of the republic. It is necessary to revive all these sectors, to ensure their development. Therefore, what is important for us is not the help of the federal government in terms of subsidies or maintenance. We are interested in support from the point of view of development of the country. We are working in this direction now. Last week ten priority projects of the President of the Republic of Dagestan have been approved, and we are working in all these areas," Abdullatipov said.

In his view, the potential of the country is really great. "We have to use this potential in the economy, not to plunder it into pieces, to distribute to cousins, friends, etc," he added.