The year 2010 marked a significant fall in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Russian economy, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Friday.
Preliminary figures show that FDI last year was between $12 to $14 billion, which is just half of what was invested in the best years, he said.
Kudrin predicted a stable annual GDP growth rate of around four per cent and above in the coming years, but said it was insufficient for a mid-ranking economy like Russia.
"We need a significantly higher growth rate of 6-7 per cent," Russia' state-owned news agency RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
Last week, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to submit the government's proposals to set up a special fund to attract investments.
Medvedev hopes that the special fund will boost Russia's business potential and the government's efforts to improve the investment climate in the country. He highlighted the idea while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.
The Kremlin had admitted the bleak state of Russia's investment climate, which was made hostile by rampant state corruption, excessive red tape and an inefficient judicial system.
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