Boosting bilateral trade and industrial ties is "a duty" given the "complementary nature" of the two countries' economies, Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte told Russia's president Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow on Wednesday.
"As a government,we are ready to support companies which want to deepen their partnerships with Russia, start up new joint-ventures and take part in new development projects - I am here to vouch for this," Conte stated.
Russian companies "are aware" that Italian firms make excellent partners, Conte said, praising "trail-blazing" businesses that have benefitted the whole of Italian industry.
"Even at the most difficult moments, they never considered pulling-out of Russia. As head of Italy's government I want to give them credit for this before the highest authority of the Russian Federation," he said.
Despite adverse external conditions, Russia has continued to develop its ties with Italy and the level of trade between the two countries remains high, news agency Tass quoted Putin as telling Conte during their meeting
"There have been very constructive, and also benevolent, relations between Russia and your country during the recent years and decades, which are supported by almost all political forces both in Italy and in the Russian Federation," Putin said, cited by Tass.
"Despite the hard times today, we’ve never lost the high level of political contacts," Tass quoted Putin as adding.
Italy is ranked sixth in Russia's foreign trade turnover, and trade has grown steadily in the past two years, Putin said.
