Food giants San Miguel Corp. and Dole Philippines "show interest" in investing in food and refreshment production in the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said recently.
In his meeting with Philippine business leaders at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) at the sidelines of his visit to Manila for the 14th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last Friday, the Russian foreign minister said he hopes this interest will increase the volume of trade between the two countries.
Lavrov said trade volume between the two countries for 2006 was only $170 million, or a 38 percent decline from its 2005 level. However, he said, things are looking up as the same indicator showed a 45-percent increase over the first six months of 2007.
"We have been enjoying double surplus … and our present priority is to move the economy into an innovative development, and integrate the country with the global economy," he said.
With an annual growth rate of 7 percent for the past six years, he said, Russia seeks to invest outside its borders, in particular, in the exploration and production of oil and gas, railway construction, development of port facilities, as well as infrastructure in Philippine economic zones.
He said Russia is also ready to offer high-technology engineering services to the Philippines.
"Overall, the level of cooperation (between the two countries) is quite modest. Our business communities don't know too much of each other and this information gap should be breached," he said.
In his meeting with Philippine business leaders at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) at the sidelines of his visit to Manila for the 14th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last Friday, the Russian foreign minister said he hopes this interest will increase the volume of trade between the two countries.
Lavrov said trade volume between the two countries for 2006 was only $170 million, or a 38 percent decline from its 2005 level. However, he said, things are looking up as the same indicator showed a 45-percent increase over the first six months of 2007.
"We have been enjoying double surplus … and our present priority is to move the economy into an innovative development, and integrate the country with the global economy," he said.
With an annual growth rate of 7 percent for the past six years, he said, Russia seeks to invest outside its borders, in particular, in the exploration and production of oil and gas, railway construction, development of port facilities, as well as infrastructure in Philippine economic zones.
He said Russia is also ready to offer high-technology engineering services to the Philippines.
"Overall, the level of cooperation (between the two countries) is quite modest. Our business communities don't know too much of each other and this information gap should be breached," he said.