Russia to stick to five priorities in economic restructuring, says Putin

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov. 21 -- Russia will continue to implement its post-crisis measures for economic restructuring and development by adhering to five priorities, said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday.

Addressing the 11th national congress of the ruling United Russia Party, Putin, head of the party, said his government would focus on five priorities for economic development.

These include insuring the stable operation of leading enterprises while creating projects for technical revamp and modernization; promoting hi-tech exportation; developing housing and construction undertakings; stimulating domestic demand including car industry; and solving problems such as unemployment and cities with only a single industry.

Russia has planned to allocate more than 2 billion U.S. dollars to support its hi-tech exportation, said Putin.

The government will also launch a car scrapping program, under which each citizen who scraps a vehicle used for over 10 years can get some 1,786 dollars for new car purchasing, he said.

In addition, around 1.3 billion dollars will be used to promote employment.

Putin said the situation of labor force market continued to be critical though the number of jobless people dropped from 7.1 million in February to 6 million in October.

More than 600 delegates and about 2,000 guests attended the one-day congress of the United Russia Party.

Party members are expected to adopt a new document on party ideology. They will also elect members of the Supreme Council.

Founded in December 2001, the United Russia Party is the largest political party in Russia.

Putin was elected head of the party as a non-party member after finishing an eight-year presidential tenure, while Dmitry Medvedev was elected president in March 2008 as a candidate of the party.