| After Klebanov's departure, the ministry will receive additional functions The Ministry of Industry and Science will not be liquidated with the departure of Ilya Klebanov. As Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Boris Aleshin, who oversees administrative reform issues in the government, told reporters yesterday, currently, as part of the administrative reform, the functions of the Ministry of Industry and Science are being analyzed, many of which require modernization. According to him, there are different options for building the ministry, but there is no talk of its abolition. On the contrary, the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology may be transferred to a number of functions that are unusual for other ministries.
As for rumors about a possible division of the ministry into defense and civilian parts, the Deputy Prime Minister categorically denied them. According to him, there is no need to “draw a divide” between the civilian and military industries, since the issues of regulating their activities, in particular the issues of technology, are common and “they do not need to be separated.”
The Ministry of Industry and Science will henceforth be given functions that are not entirely familiar to it. It may receive additional powers on procedures for the rehabilitation and bankruptcy of industrial enterprises. Mr. Aleshin noted that the current recovery procedure in Russia is “not entirely correct”, since the external manager is appointed for a short period of time, while dealing with current recovery issues, he often has neither a recovery plan nor an investment program for enterprises.
It is likely that the Ministry of Industry will also be assigned responsibilities for supporting small businesses. Formally, this issue is still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Science, but in fact they are completely supervised by the MAP.
After the appointment of Ilya Klebanov as the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Northwestern Federal District, the post of head of the Ministry of Industry and Science remains vacant. Candidates for the post of head of the ministry may be considered at a meeting between Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Deputy Prime Minister Aleshin on November 5. Among the candidates being discussed, according to Mr. Aleshin, will be the candidacy of Andrei Fursenko, who is currently acting. Head of the Ministry of Industry and Science. “There is no need to resolve the issue of appointing the head of the ministry in a matter of hours,” said Boris Aleshin, emphasizing that Andrei Fursenko is currently competently performing the duties of the head of the ministry. Irina SKLYAROVA |
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