Russian Government Expects Rise In Italian Investments In Russia

The Russian government is expecting a rise in the volume of Italian investments in the Russian economy, Arkady Volsky, president of the Russian Union of industrialists and entrepreneurs, announced at a meeting with representatives of Italian business circles in Lipetsk today. Participants of the meeting discussed outlooks for investments in industries in Russia and the possibility of changing requirements for running businesses in Russia. The president of the Russian Union of industrialists and entrepreneurs and Antonio d'Amato, president of the Italian Industrial Confederation, are expected to sign a partnership agreement tomorrow. As of now, about 150 business plans have already been prepared for Italian investors. Most of these plans concern the metal industry and machine building. Concrete volumes of investments have not been disclosed yet. As reported, the volume of trade between Russia and Italy amounted to $9bn in 2000.