OREANDA-NEWS. March 25, 2010. Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:  Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, distinguished guests, it is our pleasure to welcome you to Moscow. I am very happy to see you in Russia again.

The amount of trade between our countries is not very large. I'd even say it's small, unfortunately. And even still, our trade declined during the economic recession.

That being said, Russia is interested in a partnership with Qatar, and I hope you are as well. Our countries are among the world's largest producers of hydrocarbons, primarily gas, and it is very important to coordinate our joint work on the markets. That's the first point I'd make.

Second, I think that investments are another promising area for cooperation. Russia has promising projects to offer investors, and we are eager to participate in investment projects in Qatar.

And, of course, it would be valuable for us to share our views on the situation in the region. Welcome!

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (as translated): Thank you very much. We have known each other for a long time, and I am always happy to meet with a good friend.

We are interested in expanding relations between our countries, including economic relations.

Unfortunately, trade between our countries is not very large, which can be explained by the fact that we offer the same product. That's why it makes sense for us to work together.

We are very interested in cooperating with Russia and investing here. Just a few days ago we signed an agreement with Gazprom. It's not a very big project yet, but we have big plans, and I hope that our joint efforts will allow us to make significant progress. Thank you very much.