Italy, Russia Working To Launch Joint Investment Fund Soon - Italian Economy Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) Italy and Russia will start the implementation of a project aimed at creating a bilateral investment fund in the near future, Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday.

"We are working on this issue. It is planned to create a joint Russian-Italian fund, which will be financing the investment projects in Russia, as well as in Italy, and other countries. It is a big project, and we will start its implementation soon," Tria told Russian tv channel Russia-24 in an interview.

Tria noted that the cooperation between Russia and Italy was on a very high level, "but we still have what to strive for.

" He also reminded that Russia was the biggest supplier of the energy resources to Italy, adding that "there are no problems in this regard."

Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov announced in December that Italy's foreign direct investment in Russia had reached $4.3 billion, while the Russian investment in Italy amounted to $2.8 billion in 2018, adding that by the end of the year Russian-Italian trade was expected to reach $28 billion, which is $4 billion more than in 2017, yet significantly lower than the highest figure to date � $54 billion in 2013.