Based on the preparations for the anticipated visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Saudi Arabia in October, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said that the visit would be a "historic" one.
Dmitriev stated to Rossiya-24 TV channel, on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week, that the visit will witness signing a big number of deals between the two countries.
This reflects the mounting role of Russia in the Middle East as the cooperation between the Saudi-Russian companies saw a boost recently, he added.
“We’ve made investments with our Saudi partners of more than USD2.7 billion,” Dmitriev said, affirming that they were significant investments that served the nationalism projects in Russia.
He added that the strength of the bilateral business relationship was a testament to the success of the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Moscow in 2017.
The two countries also played a key role in formulating OPEC+ oil output cut deal, which controlled the sharp fluctuations in the market. The deal, also, enhanced the Russian economy by providing an additional income.
"The Russian budget has received more than USD100 billion from this deal. It is especially important now when the market volatility continues," Dmitriev said.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated on Wednesday that a total of 30 agreements and MoUs will be signed between Saudi Arabia and Russia during the visit.
According to Bloomberg, Novak didn’t specify the total number of energy-related agreements. Saudi and Russian sources pointed out that the visit will focus on bilateral ties and the situation in Syria, Yemen, and the Gulf.
Throughout the past years, Saudi-Russian ties have seen positive progress.
