Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday an increase in Russia's soft power will help draw foreign investment.
He made the comment at a meeting with officials from the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, which promotes Russia worldwide.
As one of its priorities, the agency should work to improve Russia's international image in a bid to attract investors from abroad, Medvedev said.
"The inflow of foreign investment doesn't meet the potential," he said in a statement on the Cabinet's website. "And the reasons for the shortfall of investment are linked with the … reputational damage that we incur."
As an example, he said the Gazprom-led project to lay a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany was met with suspicion in some European countries, and won approval much more slowly than Russia expected.
Medvedev said Russia remains a strong international leader in education and science, but it undershoots its potential to have a wider humanitarian presence in the world.
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