MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Participation in the BRICS was the most promising route for Russia's integration into the global economy, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.
"The positive prospects of the BRICS are obvious," Medvedev told the ongoing Gaidar forum, which is discussing the integration of Russia into the global economy.
The annual forum, named after Yegor Gaidar, Russia's first post-Soviet prime minister, was first held in 2010 and has become a significant gathering of experts and political leaders in Russia.
Russia had also been open to cooperation within other frameworks, Medvedev said. "I believe, the preference should be given to the notion of the common economic and humanitarian space from Atlantic to Pacific."
While admitting that no one knew how the world would look after the global financial crisis, Medvedev said Russia should deal with the unfolding process with a positive mood.
To illustrate his vision, he quoted Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the People's Republic of China, who once said, when the wind of change blows, one should build a windmill instead of finding a place to hide.
The priority for the government, in his view, was technological and social modernization, and diversification of the economy to reduce its dependence on fuel export.
"This course will stay steady," he promised, adding success depended on the authorities' ability to face new challenges, to be "flexible yet stable".
Medvedev noted Russia was interested in attracting strategic investors but the government could not wait indefinitely for favorable conditions to appear.
He said the private sector should be given more support and efforts should be made to cut bureaucracy for the sector.
Photos: Cities and villages surrounded by pollution
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