Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday the Russian economy needed to become more open to create innovative products and compete effectively on global markets.

"We must not become closed. The average-weighted rate of the Russian market protection [the average import duty] is 11.5% compared with 3-4% in the EU and about 3% in the U.S. While creating a new product, we must import the best technologies. If we develop them only on our own, we'll most likely fall behind and therefore we need openness," he said.

Addressing a Moscow conference on the modernization of the Russian economy and the role of development institutions, Kudrin said world trade had contracted 11.9% over the crisis year while Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) lost even more.

Kudrin said that many markets were trying to protect themselves as the global economic crisis was not yet over, adding that Russia was the most closed country.

Kudrin also said that Russia's accession into the World Trade Organization as part of a customs union created between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in November would lower the high level of protectionism within the boundaries of new customs borders.

MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)