Russia's minister for economic development has said he is confident about the country's growth prospects, but stressed the business climate had to improve.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Alexei Ulyukayev, who is the former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, said he expects Russia's economy to grow by more than 2 percent in 2014.
"We have three drivers for economic growth: consumer demand and investment demand," he told CNBC. Exports are growing, mostly because of the recovery in Europe, according to Ulyukayev, and consumer demand is expected to stay steady in 2014.
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But he said his "main hope" was an improvement in investment into Russia. He admitted there had been "modest rate of investment growth" in 2013, but said "we believe this year the rate of (capital) investment will be around 4 percent."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agrees that the country's exports should pick up in 2014, along with a recovery in investment, and forecasts growth to come in at 2 percent.
