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Russia, Saudi Arabia to launch products worth USD 3 bln by end of 2017

17 April 2017

Russia and Saudi Arabia should launch joint projects valued at USD 3 billion by the end of 2017, Chairperson of the Council of the Federation Valentina Matviyenko said during a meeting with members of the Saudi business community in Riyadh, Parliamentskaya Gazeta reports.

“Russia is providing its partners with great opportunities to develop business and investment. Parliament has passed laws that improve the investment and business climate. The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia have successful cooperation. Thanks to their efforts, projects worth some USD 600 million have been implemented. Projects worth an additional USD 3 billion should be launched by the end of this year”, the Chamber of Regions press service quotes the Federation Council speaker as saying.

Matviyenko noted that the most promising areas of cooperation between the countries include energy, geological exploration, mineral production, and tanker construction. The countries can also provide one another with investment support and help to train personnel. In addition, economy diversification programmes being implemented in both countries create additional opportunities for interaction, she said.

“Even though Saudi Arabia ranks second among Arab nations in terms of trade with Russia, the volume of trade turnover decreased significantly last year. This is not consistent with the potential that our countries have. We are interested in expanding economic ties”, she said.

Matviyenko added that the Federation Council will cooperate with other Russian government authorities to help to eliminate barriers obstructing the development of bilateral business contacts. In particular, during the meeting the officials focused on problems involving the short duration of business visas, the lack of direct flights, and difficulties with freight turnover.

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