Russia Provided Over $1.1Bln of Aid to Poorest States in 2016

Russia provided $1.1 billion of assistance to the poorest countries in 2016, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), adding that it was a significant volume of financial aid, given Russia is a country with emerging economy.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The deputy minister pointed out that Russian assistance was mainly focused on health care system, fight against communicable diseases, food security, public financial management, social protection and education systems, as well as access to basic sanitation services.

"In 2015, the total volume of Russian international development assistance reached $1.16 billion, in 2016 it amounted to $1.1 billion. This is a very good figure for the emerging economy," Storchak said.

Storchak stressed that the Russian government was allocating more money to the poorest nations than private business, adding that it was also better in finances management.

According to the official, US corporations were leaders of such assistance programs, spending about $28 billion in 2016, while the total expenditures of the world corporate sector on international development assistance amounted to $35.6 billion last year.

SPIEF, held in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg between Thursday and Saturday, is a major global platform for communication between business representatives and discussion of crucial economic issues. Sputnik News Agency is the official media partner of the forum.