Penza, 21 September 2017. PenzaNews. The international forum "Presidential programme: people – projects – business – success" started at the premises of the Penza regional Lermontov library on Thursday, September 21.

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Graduates, teachers, the authorities and partners were greeted by the director of the resource centre of the presidential programme of senior executives training Tatyana Ulanova, who explained that the event was timed to the 20th anniversary of project implementation.

Then, it was a turn of the chairman of the Penza region government Nikolai Simonov to address himself to those present noting that participation in the forum was a symbol of success.

"Over the 20 years of the programme realization in the Penza region, 1,186 senior executives of various sectors of economy has taken part in it. I am pleased to note that graduates of the presidential programme head the leading enterprises of the Penza region and successfully developing small and medium business enterprises. They make maximum use of knowledge and experience gained from studying abroad developing local enterprises and introducing modern projects", he explained.

According to Nikolai Simonov, it gives an urge to introduce new ideas and favours the region's investment attraction and improves the residents' life quality.

The deputy chairman of the government, programme graduate in 2004 Andrei Luzgin noted that on macroeconomic indicators the Penza region had shown an increase over the last three years – the GDP had increased by almost 9%, industrial index – by 18%, agriculture – by more than 20%.

"The first and the most important thing for the Penza region government is to create an attractive business climate, and to remove the barriers to new and existing businesses," he noted.

Andrei Luzgin specified that by the end of the year it was planned to introduce a special category of enterprises – those that carried out modernization, increased their output and created jobs – into the law about the public-private partnership and investment so that they had certain benefits.

“The next range of issues relates to the creation of two advanced development zones in Serdobsk and the town of Zarechny of the Penza region. We expect that the works in Serdobsk will have been completed by the end of the year, and as for Zarechny, the status of the advanced development zone will be known in the first quarter of 2018,” the deputy chairman of the government added.

According to him, the Penza region had prospects for export development and for promotion of industrial growth.

The director of the Federal Resource Centre Alexei Bunkin explained that studying abroad had changed the consciousness of the students.

"It is a chance to get new knowledge and relations," he specified.

Alexei Bunkin noted that the main challenges the programme had to deal with were the digital economy, increase in labour productivity, improvement of the administration system, promotion of small and medium business, development of programmes for studying abroad.

In turn, the project leader of the German society GIZ Isolde Heinz giving a speech in the Russian language said that she was glad to take part in the two-day forum.

"You can be proud of the results you have achieved over these years," she specified.

Then, the director of trade and economic relations of the Autonomous Non-profit Organization "Japanese centre" Hamano Mitihiro noted that he was in Penza for the first time and did not regret having come to the city. He also expressed hope that communication at the conference would be fruitful.

"I am grateful to everyone who applied efforts to implement the project. Being Japanese, we remain benevolent neighbours of your country. I think it is not the last time we meet. We will visit you again and will have different discussions," he specified.

When the plenary session finished, a coffee break was held, after which the work was continued in four sections: "Creation and development of innovative business in the region", "Best practices in the formation of HR-policy in the regions", "Socially significant business projects", "Branding of territories and investment attraction of the region".