Italy became the largest trading partner of Russia among the countries of the European Union in September this year. This was reported by Acting Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Italy Sergey Pirogov.
‘The main contribution was made by imports of Italian products, which grew by more than 10 per cent to 427 million euros. At the same time, Russian exports increased by 17%, amounting to about 341 million euros,’ Sergey Pirogov told a public conference dedicated to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (IRCC) at the congress centre of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) in Moscow.
It is specified that the trade turnover between the countries increased by 25% and totalled 768 million euros.
The head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin, for his part, said that the chamber seeks to maintain contacts with all Western partners, despite the difficulties of interstate political relations.
‘The regional cross-section is invariably present in the agenda of joint events on the lines of our chambers of commerce and industry,’ he emphasised, talking about IRTP’s work in Russia’s regions.
Katyrin added that this year representatives of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce visited several regions, including the Kirov and Lipetsk regions.
IRTP President Ferdinando Pelazzo called for continued co-operation for the development of small and medium-sized businesses of the two countries.
Earlier, RIA Novosti news agency, citing Eurostat data, reported that in September this year Italy overtook Germany to take the first place among Russia’s trade partners in the European Union.
