MOSCOW, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Russia will become the world's fifth largest economy by 2020, should its gross domestic product (GDP) keep an annual growth rate of 6 to 7 percent, said Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Elvira Nabiullina on Monday.

    "If we maintain the GDP growth at 6 percent to 7 percent per year, we'll join the group of the world's five largest economies," the minister was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

    "We are setting ourselves this goal," she said.

    Under a forecast drawn up by her ministry in November for Russia's economic development until 2020, the country's GDP is expected to exceed 5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020 given a foreign exchange rate of 30 rubles equivalent to 1 dollar.

    The forecast also put Russia into the position of the world's fifth largest economy measured by the GDP by 2020 while overtaking all the other European countries.

    Russia's GDP in 2007 is expected to reach 1.3 trillion dollars, a surge of more than 7 percent driven by growing household consumption and a boosted business activities, the RIA Novosti reported, citing a report of the ministry.