YALTA (Sputnik) — Foreign and Russian investments in the Crimean peninsula have been steadily growing since the middle of 2016, Andrei Melnikov, the republic's minister of economic development, said Thursday.
"Since the middle of the last year, there has been a gradual growth of investments on all fronts, foreign and Russian," Melnikov told reporters on the sidelines of the Third Yalta International Economic Forum.
According to the minister, about 250 companies have been founded in the republic using foreign investments.
One of the key economic forums in Russia kicked off earlier in the day in the Crimean city of Yalta and will feature multiple discussions on the economy of the region and possible development and growth strategies.
Crimea seceded from Ukraine and rejoined Russia in March 2014, after a referendum determined that almost 97 percent of the region's population was in favor of the move. The referendum was held after the February 2014 coup in Ukraine.
