Putin, Medvedev to meet with Italian Prime Minister and discuss bilateral cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will meet on Wednesday with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, currently on a state visit to the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Russian leader.

Aide to the Russian President Yury Ushakov told reporters that the Russian leader and Italian Prime Minister will meet in Moscow to discuss bilateral cooperation and international issues. He added that this would be Putin’s first contact with the current head of the Italian government.

On the same day, Medvedev and Conte are expected to meet. According to the press service of the Russian Prime Minister, the parties will discuss implementation of major joint projects, as well as topical issues of the Russian-Italian trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, progress of major joint projects in the energy sector, industry, high technology and other areas.

According to the Russian government, in January-August 2018, the trade turnover between Russia and Italy amounted to $17.4 bln, which is 14.8% more than in the same period a year earlier. In particular, Russian exports reached $6.9 bln (an increase of 10.9%), imports - $10.5 bln (an increase of 11.8%).