The State Duma of the Russian Federation has adopted in the first reading a draft law on the legislative consolidation of elements of the Regional Investment Standard at the federal level. The initiative was introduced by the Government and developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia in order to form a unified and predictable approach to the development of investment activities in all regions of the country.
The regional investment standard was introduced in all regions in 2024 on behalf of the President and has since proved to be a universal tool for attracting investment. At its core, it is a systematic set of mechanisms for interaction between the investor and the authorities, which allows you to structure investment processes and reduce uncertainty in the implementation of projects.
Until now, the legal basis for the application of the Standard has been an order from the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, which included nine methods for implementing its elements. This format was advisory in nature, which provided flexibility and the ability to quickly adjust tools. As Denis Tyupyshev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, noted, this approach was chosen deliberately.:
"At the same time, the ministry's order was advisory in nature. This form was chosen jointly with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives for a reason and made it possible to make Reginveststandard more flexible, making it possible to quickly make changes to the methods."
According to the representative of the department, over the years of practical application in the regions, a stable system has been formed that does not require drastic revision. In this regard, the transition to federal legislative consolidation is considered as the logical next step.
"The institutional consolidation of the Reginveststandard will create a legal basis at the federal level for the implementation of investor support tools in all regions," Denis Tyupyshev emphasized, speaking at a plenary session of the State Duma.
The draft law proposes to supplement the law "On Investment Activities in the Russian Federation" with a new article 11.1, which sets out the key elements of the Standard. Among them are the investment declaration of the region as a public commitment to preserve the conditions for project implementation, development agencies to accompany investors, investment committees under the heads of regions for pre—trial dispute resolution, a set of investment rules, a feedback mechanism with businesses through the Public Services platform, as well as investment proposals in the format of ready-made solutions.
Separately, the document provides for the extension of the logic of the Reginveststandard to the municipal level. This means the official consolidation of the investment profiles of municipalities and the institution of municipal investment commissioners, which should increase the transparency and manageability of investment processes "on the ground."
In addition, the bill introduces a system for monitoring the quality of the implementation of the Standard with the participation of not only government agencies, but also business associations. Such a mechanism is designed to provide feedback and control the actual effectiveness of the implemented tools.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the adoption of the law will make a significant contribution to achieving the strategic goal of increasing investment by 2030. As Denis Tyupyshev emphasized, we are talking about an increase in investments by at least 60% compared to the level of 2020 and the formation of a stable legal framework for the investment development of the entire country.
Stanislav Naumov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, also outlined his position.:
"These are tools for the development of the territory, solutions that will increase the productivity of our economy. And there is confidence that the measures proposed in the bill will not remain on paper, because each of the tools mentioned by colleagues from the government has been tested in dozens of regions over the 5 years of our joint work."
