BUDAPEST, October 31. /TASS/. The Russian-Hungarian trade turnover increased by 30% in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters after talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday.

"Last year, we registered a significant increase in trade turnover, which was almost 30%. This, according to our statistics, is about $7 billion," Putin said.

The Russian president added that issues of further increase in bilateral trade are handled by an intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. According to him, opportunities for further growth were discussed in detail during the commission’s latest session, held in Moscow two weeks ago.

Putin said the two nations are seeking to diversify bilateral trade without placing emphasis on the energy sector alone.

"In my opinion, we coping with this task in general, although the energy sector still remains in the first place," he said. "The considerable package of documents, of corporate agreements, will undoubtedly further promote Russian-Hungarian ties."

The Russian leader thanked the Hungarian premier for the invitation to visit Budapest.

"Indeed, we created a mechanism of cooperation at the supreme level, and, apparently, it is working successfully - I’m referring to the progress in our trade and economic ties here," he said, adding that during the latest talks the sides managed to discuss the entire spectrum of bilateral relations in detail and to sum up the results of implementing the previous agreements.

According to the Russian president, while discussing joint industrial projects, Russia and Hungary addressed the possibility of manufacturing and modernizing vessels for Hungary’s river fleet. Moreover, Russian companies suggested cooperating in modernizing trains for the Budapest Metro.