OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Italian Development Institute Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), as well as its subsidiaries SIMEST and Fondo Italiano di investimento SGR, the RDIF says in a press release Thursday. It's assumed that the parties invest together up to € 300 million over three years.

The corresponding agreement was signed during the official visit of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Italy. "The agreement is aimed at deepening economic cooperation between Russia and Italy through joint investments mainly in Italian small and medium-sized companies that are present on the Russian market or have plans to enter it", the report said.

In particular, RDIF and SIMEST will evaluate potential investments in the Russian divisions of Italian companies, while with Fondo Italiano di Investimento SGR the parties will analyze the possibilities for co-investment in Italian companies planning to enter the Russian market. The agreement provides for the possibility of joining to it other units of the CDP in the future, noted in the RDIF.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti - National Development Institute, which finances public investment, supports international cooperation, and also develops infrastructure in Italy. CDP supports Italian companies, facilitates their entry into the international market. Later, the head of the RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, said in an interview with journalists that Italy is one of the key countries of the European Union, which is now most strongly focused on joint investments in Russia and most actively sharing the Russian position on most issues.