OREANDA-NEWS. October 3, 2011. Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Kopeikin held a number of working meetings with heads of foreign financial institutions: US Eximbank, Citigroup/Citibank, KfW, the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Brazil Development Bank (BNDES) and the French State Agency OSEO.

In the course of the meetings their participants discussed issues of promoting cooperation between financial organizations in providing support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mechanisms for joint efforts to fund SME sector including in innovations sector. The parties intend to hold consultations on supporting SMEs focusing on working out mechanisms for funding companies implementing modernization, innovations, energy efficiency and resource saving projects.

Main lines of cooperation in exchanging information on the mechanisms and banking products aimed at funding SMEs and financing joint projects were agreed upon at the meetings with U.S. Eximbank, KfW and Citibank.

In the course of talks with the Brazil Development Bank an agreement was reached on Vnesheconombank’s and SME Bank’s participation in the work of the Russian business mission, scheduled by the two countries’ economics ministries for late November – early December of 2011.

The meeting between executives of Vnesheconombank and OSEO resulted in taking a decision to send a delegation of Vnesheconombank and SME Bank to Paris in mid October of 2011 to work out a joint action plan for cooperation in SME sector focusing on funding modernization and innovations projects in SME sector in Russia and France. Vnesheconombank and the French State Agency OSEO signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May of 2011. The Memorandum is designed to establish long-term cooperation between the two state financial institutions in providing support for small and medium-sized enterprises including those involved in innovation activity.