RAMALLAH /state of Palestine/, November 7. /TASS /. Trade between Russia and Palestine for the first 8 months of 2018 increased by 61% year-on-year and reached $3.6 mln, Russia’s Labor and Social Protection Minister Maxim Topilin said on Wednesday.
He was speaking at the talks with the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas that took place in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.
"During the eight months of 2018, the Russian-Palestinian trade increased by 61% compared to the same period last year and amounted to $3.6 mln. This is due to the increase in Russian exports due to the supply of flour, sunflower oil, building materials," said the minister whose statements were later disseminated by his press office.
Topilin met with Abbas on the eve of the third meeting of the Russian-Palestinian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, which was held later on Wednesday in Ramallah.
"As part of the work of the intergovernmental commission, we are focused on finding business projects, the implementation of which could strengthen economic cooperation and, as a result, increase trade between Russia and Palestine," Topilin said during negotiations with the Palestinian leader.
"We are confident that trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Palestine has further potential. In terms of legal environment, all the conditions have been created for doing business and it is crucial that the business knows about them. To date, several business missions to Palestine have already taken place," the Russian minister added.
The Russian minister invited the Palestinian colleagues to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will be held in June 2019. "The participation of Palestinian companies in the St. Petersburg Forum would be an excellent opportunity to establish contacts and to close deals," Topilin said.