Russia and Italy executed contracts in the amount of $1.3 bln at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at the press conference with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on the sidelines of the SPIEF.
“Personal participation of Mr. Renzi in this event supported the high representation level of Italian business circles. Contracts with participation of the Italian business totaling over $1.3 bln were signed on sidelines of the Forum today,” Putin said.
Italy is now fifth among Russian trade partners, Putin said. However, the bilateral trade contracted last year and continues declining in 2016 because of the economic situation and political restrictions, the Russian president added.
Energy is the main area of cooperation between the countries, the Russian Head of State said. “We on the whole see high prospects for localization of Italian companies’ production facilities in the Russian territory. We saw today in the course of talks that our Italian partners are interested in that,” Putin said.
Italian companies also show interest in cooperation in the sphere of space, innovations and infrastructural projects, Putin added.