By RIA Novosti
Novo-Ogaryovo (Russia) : Italian power company Enel plans to invest around 9 billion euros ($14 billion) in the Russian economy over the next five years, a Russian presidential aide said.
Speaking after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian business leaders near Moscow, Sergei Yastrzhembsky said Enel CEO Fulvio Conti had proposed his company’s assistance in training electrical engineers in Russia.
Yastrzhembsky said Russia and Italy plan to establish a joint investment bank on a parity basis by the end of this year.
“A proposal was forwarded on the establishment of a new Italian-Russian investment bank, which would include Intesa Sanpaolo and a number of Italy’s major companies, including the energy sector companies,” he said.
Gazprombank and the Development Bank (Vnesheconombank) will participate from the Russian side. He said the bank would support major investment projects in Europe, Russia and other former Soviet republics, as well as in China and India. The bank is likely to be set up by the end of the year.
“It will be established on the basis of Italian laws and headquartered in Italy,” the official said.
President Putin spoke to 15 leading Italian businessmen at his residence near Moscow. The meeting also involved Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina and the Russian ambassador to Italy, Alexei Meshkov.
“Last year, the bilateral trade increased substantially to a record $36 billion. The increase was driven by a rise in Russian energy supplies and almost 50 percent growth in Italian exports,” Putin said.
The outgoing Russian president also announced that the two countries would hold a fifth round of interstate consultations later this year.